k_- 


I UR BOYS  DO 
FORALIVING 


"^^iSS? 


VINGATE 


THE  GIFT  OF 

MAY  TREAT  MORRISON 

IN  MEMORY  OF 

ALEXANDER  F  MORRISON 


WHAT  SHALL  OUR  BOYS  DO 
FOR  A  LIVING? 


iVHAT  SHALL  OUR  BOYS 
DO  FOR  A  LiyiNG? 

3 

BY  CHARLES  F.  WING  ATE 

3  " 


NEW  YORK 

THE  DOUBLED  A  Y  &-  McCLURE 

COMPANY 

1898 


Copyright,  1898. 

BY 

CHARLES   F.   WINQATE. 


Mr 


TO   MY  MOTHER, 

WHO  ENDOWED  ME  WITH  HEALTH,  A  CHEERFUL  SPIRIT,  COUR- 
AGE TO  FACE  TRIALS  AND  PHILOSOPHY  TO  BEAR  THEM,  AND  A 
LOVE  OF  WHOLESOME  READING  ;  AND  WHO  MADE  THE  HOME  A 
PLACE  TO  ENJOY  AND  A  SAFEGUARD  AGAINST  TEMPTATION,  I 
DEDICATE  THIS  LITTLE  BOOK. 


"Of  the  Mother,  I  cannot  think  of  anythkig  to  say.  She  is 
just  the  Mother — our  own  dear,  patient,  loving  little  Mother — 
unlike  every  one  else  in  the  world,  and  yet  it  seems  as  if  there 
was  nothing  to  say  about  her  by  which  one  could  make  any  one 
understand  what  she  is. " 

Chronicles  of  t?ie  Schonberg-Cotta  Family. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Thousands  of  fathers  and  mothers  are  anxiously 
considering  their  son's  careers,  while  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  boys  all  over  the  land  are  picturing 
their  future  in  glowing  colors.  In  other  countries 
the  parents  usually  decide  such  matters,  but  "  Young 
America"  likes  to  act  for  himself.  Next  to  selecting 
a  wife,  the  choice  of  a  calling  is  the  most  important 
act  of  a  man's  life.  If  he  makes  a  mistake  he  ma.y 
change  later  on,  but  it  is  better  to  start  right  and 
avoid  getting  the  square  peg  in  the  round  hole.  Mrs. 
Browning  says : 

"The  cygnet  finds  the  water,  but  the  man 
Is  born  in  ignorance  of  his  element.  " 

Cromwell  and  Hampden  had  reached  middle  age 
before  they  entered  on  their  true  vocation.  Grant 
tanned  and  Sherman  taught  school  until  the  Civil 
War  brought  them  opportunit}-.  Many  other  notable 
men  and  women  never  "discovered  themselves,"  as 
the  French  say,  until  they  had  waited  and  struggled 
for  years. 

Few  persons  possess  either  sufficient  experience  or 
judgment  to  ad-sdse  others  what  calling  to  follow.  It 
seems  strange  that  no  one  has  written  a  book  on  the 
subject  before.  Plenty  of  advice  is  to  be  had  about 
the  value  of  honesty,  industry  and  thrift.     But  what 


Vlll 


Introduction. 


the  young  need  most  is  plain  facts  about  different 
occui)ations,  particularly  the  new  ones,  with  their  ad- 
vantages and  drawbacks;  how  to  enter  and  how  to 
get  on  in  them,  with  other  practical  and  specific  in- 
formation. My  chief  aim  has  been  to  show  the  value 
of  thorough  training,  and  that  there  is  a  demand  for 
capable  men  in  every  calling.  I  have  laid  special 
stress  on  inclination  and  aptitude,  and  have  tried  to 
tell  young  men  how  to  find  their  special  beut,  if 
they  have  any.  Home  training  is  fully  discussed,  and 
also  the  influence  of  environment.  Finally,  I  urge 
the  importance  of  health  and  good  addi*ess,  and  the 
value  of  the  facility  of  writing  and  talking,  as  aids  to 
success. 

I  have  tried  my  hand  at  several  things,  and  can 
speak  with  some  familiarity  of  business,  journalism, 
engineering,  and  real-estate  development.  I  know 
the  trials  of  beginning  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder,  and 
of  entering  a  virgin  field.  I  have  had  to  learn  some 
things  without  a  teacher,  and  appreciate  the  value  of 
expert  knowledge.  I  have  faced  disaster  without 
flinching,  and  been  disciplined  by  failure.  I  know 
the  emptiness  of  merely  material  success,  and  the 
sustaining  power  of  high  ideals.  I  can  therefore 
sympathize  with  the  struggling,  and  with  those  who 
have  failed  to  win  the  prizes  of  life. 

I  have  been  gathering  material  for  the  present  vol- 
ume for  many  years.  In  reading  the  biography  of 
any  person,  I  have  noted  how  he  was  educated ;  how 
he  got  his  first  start ;  how  long  he  had  to  wait  for 
recognition ;  whether  he  had  setbacks  or  disappoint- 
ments, and  what  was  their  effect  upon  him.  I  have 
questioned  scores  of  men  and  women  regarding  how 


Introduction,  ix 

to  form  cliaracter,  and  how  to  give  tlie  young  a  start 
in  life. 

It  lias  been  no  small  task  to  boil  down  this  infor- 
mation. The  result  is  far  from  satisfactory.  I  sus- 
pect that  there  are  more  plums  than  pudding,  but  lit- 
tle Jack  won't  mind.  I  have  aimed  to  make  a  useful 
rather  than  a  brilliant  book.  If  I  had  had  more  time, 
it  would  be  briefer  and  better.     But  life  is  short. 

I  have  told  my  story  in  j^lain  English,  so  that  he 
who  runs  may  read;  and  have  avoided  fine  writing, 
padding,  and  exaggeration.  There  is  no  use  in  fill- 
ing young  people's  minds  with  vain  hopes.  Not 
every  one  can  make  a  fortune  or  a  national  reputa- 
tion, but  he  who  possesses  health,  ordinary  ability, 
honesty  and  industry  can  at  least  earn  a  livelihood. 

I  don't  particularly  care  for  the  "smart  Alecks," 
who  will  always  make  their  way.  My  chief  concern 
is  for  the  average  boy,  who  distrusts  himself,  and  who 
needs  to  be  shown  that  the  race  is  not  always  to  the 
swift,  that  "  slow  and  easy  goes  far  in  a  day, "  that  bril- 
liant men  are  wayward,  and  that  there  are  plentj'  of 
opportunities  for  ordinary  folks  to  win  the  comforts 
of  life,  and  perhaps  more. 

I  hope  by  setting  up  a  few  guideposts  on  life's 
j)athway  to  prevent  the  beginner  from  taking  a  leap 
in  the  dark,  and  to  save  him  from  wasted  effort. 

C.  F.  W. 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Inclination. 

PAOE 

What  Do  You  Want  to  Do?— The  Child  is  Father  to  the 
Man  —  Early  Traits  of  Children  —  Boys'  Games  and 
Occupations, 1 

CHAPTER  II. 

Qualifications. 

Aptitude — Strong  and  Weak  Points — Law  of  Compensation 
— Sharpen  Your  Tools — Self-Investigation — Two  Ex- 
amination Papers, 6 

CHAPTER  III. 

Physical  Equipment. 

Health  a  Boy's  Chief  Capital — Value  of  Staying-Powers — 
Smoking  and  Drinking — Danger  of  Overstudy — Work 
Performed  by  Semi-Invalids — Unwholesome  Occupa- 
tions— Outdoor  Exercise — Cultivate  a  Love  of  Nature 
— The  Strain  of  Responsibility — Learn  to  "  Go  Slow, "  .     12 

CHAPTER  IV. 

How  Are  You  Traenino  Your  Children? 

Study  Children's  Traits — Home  Training  8upi)lements  the 
School — Make  Companions  of  Children — Table  Talk — 


xii  Contents. 


PAGE 


Vividness  of  Early  Impressions — Cultivate  Children's 
Curiosity— Don't  Coddle  Them, 17 

CHAPTER  V. 
Moral  Tratning. 

Cultivate  Ideals  in  the  Young — Develop  Grace  and  Courtesy 
— Influence  of  Example — Home  Discipline — Physical 
Courage — Excessive  Indulgence — Prudery  in  Parents,       26 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Home  Life  of  Famous  Persons. 

Miss  Prances  E.  Willard — Charles  Kingsley — Ruskin — Wen- 
dell Phillips  and  Roundell  Palmer,         .         .         .         .33 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Penalty  op  Prosperity. 

How  Rich  Men's  Sons  are  Spoiled — How  to  Counteract 
Luxury — Practical  Teaching  Essential  for  Every  One — 
A  Suggestive  Advertisement, 37 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Don't  Overw^ork  the  Children. 

Spencer  and  Huxley  on  Precocious  Children — Dangers  from 
Overstudy — Wholesome  Play — Education  Not  a  Por- 
ous Plaster — Nature's  Methods, 40 

CHAPTER  IX. 

I*CRLic  OR  Private  Schools? 

Home  Training  Deficient — Boarding-Schools ;  Advantages 
and  Drawbacks — Military  Drill  Helpful — Class  Spirit — 
Benefits  of  Public  Schools — Need  of  Manual  Training,       45 


Contents.  xiii 

CHAPTER  X. 
What  to  Read. 

PAGE 

Books  that  Shape  Men's  Lives — Libraries  and  Children- 
How  to  Create  a  Taste  for  Reading — James  Russell 
Lowell's  Views — A  Boy's  Library — E.  E.  Hale  and  O. 
W.  Holmes  on  Study — What  Books  to  Choose — Learn  to 
Speak  and  Write — Letter-Writing  Good  Practice— Join 
a  Debating-Club, 51 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Value  op  Agreeable  Manners. 
Courtesy  Oils  the  Machinery  of  Life — The  Art  of  Making 
Friends — Cultivate  the  Social  Faculty — Men  with  a 
Genius  for  Friendship — Franklin  on  Disputation — 
Examples  of  Urbane  Men  and  the  Reverse — Shyness  a 
Fault  —  Army  and  Navy  Officers  Always  Polite — 
Every  One  Helps  the  Genial  Man,  .         .        .        .62 

CHAPTER  XII. 
The  Country  Boy. 
Effects  of  Environment  —  The  Country  Boy  —  Opportuni- 
ties in  Small  Communities — Try  the  Nearest  Thing 
First — Discussion  at  the  Twilight  Club— Climbing  a 
Long  or  a  Short  Ladder — Famous  Men  Born  in  Small 
Places — Country  Boys  in  Public  Life,   .        .        .        .71 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
The  City  Boy. 

Public-School  Studies  Superficial — "Clerk  Factories" — In- 
competent Applicants  for  Situations — "Genteel  Occu- 
pations"— Openings  for  City  Boys,         .        .        .        .77 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Learning  a  Trade. 
The  Best  Field  for  a  Boy  Who  Likes  Tools— Employers 
Who  Have  Risen  from  the  Ranks — Trades  Becoming 


xiv  Contents. 

PAGE 

Dignified — Manual  Training-Schools — The  Plumber's 
Field — Value  of  Technical  Training — What  Workmen 
Should  Read, 82 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Shall  I  Go  to  College? 

Sharpen  Your  Tools — Advantages  of  College  Training — In- 
creasing Attendance  at  Colleges — The  Money  Cost — Pay- 
ing One's  Way — Large  or  Small  Colleges? — Temptations 
and  Dangers— Social  Benefits — Classical  Study — Both 
Sides  of  the  College  Question, 99 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Journalism. 

Editors  verms  Writers— Insight  or  Expression — Strong  Con- 
victions Essential  to  Good  Writing — "A  Nose  for 
News" — Schools  of  Journalism — Newspaper  Training — 
Reporting  a  Fine  Art— City  or  Country  Papers — The 
Country  Editor — Young  Men  Preferred — Newspaper 
Salaries— Editors  as  Offlce-Holders 116 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

The  Legal  Profession. 

Its  Popularity — A  Lawyer's  Daily  Duties — How  to  Study 
Law — Breadth  of  Culture  Indispensable — Where  to 
Start — Work,  the  Secret  of  Success — How  to  Deal  with 
Judges  and  Juries — Advice  from  Veterans — Rules  of 
Conduct — Fees — Law  and  Politics,         ....   135 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

The  Art  of  Public  Speaking. 

Practice  Makes  Perfect — Use  of  the  Voice — Condensed  Lan- 
guage— Wendell  Phillips — Skill  in  Debate — Webster's 
Mode  of  Preparation — John  Bright  and  Garabetta — 
Gesture  —  Gladstone  —  Bismarck  —  Emerson  — Matthew 


Contents.  xv 

PAGE 

Arnold — Don't    be  Acrimonious — Reading  Manuscript 
— Persuasiveness,    .        .        .    ' 157 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Medicine. 

Numbers  in  the  Profession— Strain  of  Practice — Fees — 
Preventive  Medicine— Only  Capable  Men  in  Demand — 
Dr.  J.  S.  Billings  on  Study — Large  or  Small  Colleges — 
The  Medical  Student— The  Country  Doctor— Dr.  Willard 
Parker's  Advice— Hard  Workers — The  Physician  and 
Society — Tact  and  Gravity — Hotel  Doctors— Examples 
of  Success — Sir  Andrew  Clark  a  Model  Physician,         .  169 

CHAPTER  XX. 

The  Engineering  Profession. 

Its  Antiquity  and  Honors — Control  of  Natural  Forces — Pay 
of  Engineers— Blunders  of  Unskilled  Men— Qualifica- 
tions Required— Need  of  Culture  and  Literary  Training 
— How  to  Handle  Men — Fitness  for  Responsibility — 
School  or  Shop? 188 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Elements  of  Success. 

What  is  Success — Men  with  a  Grievance— Average  Success 
— Opinions  of  Notable  Men— Model  Americans— The 
Lesson  of  Failure— Jowett's  Opinion — Early  Success  a 
Drawback — How  Not  to  Succeed, 209 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Business. 

Meaning  of  the  Word— Training  for  Business— Boyish  Ex- 
periments— Andrew  Carnegie  on  Business  Success — 
Folly  of  Speculating — High  Salaries— Value  of  Prestige 
— Methods  of  Making  Money — Foresight — Mastery  of 
Details— Thrift— The  Risks  of  Business— How  to  Win 
Promotion— How  to  Fail  in  Business,    .        ,        .        .319 


xvi  Contents. 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

New  Opportunities. 

PAOE 

Variety  of  Occupations  Available— Hawthorne  on  Choos- 
ing a  Profession— Supply  Something  that  People  Want 
—Practical  Advice— Seek  New  Paths— Marvellous  Ma- 
terial Development  of  the  Nation— The  Producing  Field 
— Changes  in  Occupations — Census  Statistics — Veter- 
inary Science— Electrical  Engineering— Telegraphy- 
Mining  —  Real  Estate — Architecture — Forestry — Farm- 
ing —  Chemistry — Dentistry  —  Pharmacy  —  Teaching — 
Life  Insurance — Railway  Contracting 249 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Turning -Points  in  Life. 

When  do  Men  Come  to  Maturity? — Achievements  of  Youth- 
ful Genius — Men  who  Mature  Late— The  Twenty-sixth 
Year — Examples  of  Success  Won  at  that  Age,        .         .  280 


WHAT  SHALL  OUR  BOYS  DO 
FOR  A   LIVING? 


CHAPTEK  I. 

INCLINATION 


What  Do  you  Want  to  Do?— The  Child  Father  of  the  Man- 
Early  Traits  of  Children — Boys'  Games  and  Occupations. 

If  you  ask,  "What  shall  I  do?"  I  answer,  "What 
do  you  want  to  do?"  Do  you  delight  in  any  one  oc- 
cupation? Are  you  inclined  to  study,  or  do  you  pre- 
fer practical  things?  Do  3'ou  like  to  handle  tools? 
Can  you  draw  with  any  skill?  Have  3'ou  the  bar- 
gaining faculty?  Or  do  you  aspire  above  all  things 
to  make  money? 

Again,  what  books  interest  you — history,  travels, 
biography,  fiction,  science,  or  mechanics?  In  the 
lives  of  famous  men  what  actions  move  you  to  emula- 
tion, the  exploits  of  heroes  like  Sherman  and  Farra- 
gut;  the  struggles  of  inventors  like  Goodyear  and 
Howe;  the  explorations  of  Dr.  Kane,  Fremont, 
Stanley,  and  Livingstone;  the  deeds  of  navigators; 


2     '  '  JFJiat'  SiiaU  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livinrj? 

iiie  triiiiiipfis  of 'olrators;  the  successes  of  lawyers  and 
editors;  the  surgeon's  skill  or  the  engineer's  labors? 
Most  young  folks  long  for  a  life  of  adventure  like  that 
of  Kit  Carson  and  Buffalo  Bill,  but  they  soon  outgrow 
such  fancies. 

If  you  have  any  special  desire,  define  it  clearly. 
Write  it  down  thus :  "  I  would  be  a  lawyer  or  an  edi- 
tor, a  merchant  or  an  engineer."  See  how  it  looks  in 
plain  English,  and  think  it  over.  This  simple  act 
may  convince  you  that  you  are  mistaken,  or  it  may 
decide  your  future.  If  you  want  to  do  anything  very 
much,  "the  way  is  apt  to  open,"  as  the  Quakers  say. 
"  What  you  will,  that  you  can  do."  "Thoughts  are 
acts." 

"But  suppose  I  have  no  choice?"  I  answer, 
very  few  •  }■  oung  persons  have,  and  their  lives  are 
usually  shaped  by  accident  or  chance.  But  there  is 
a  decided  advantage  in  having  a  definite  and  clear 
purpose  in  life,  to  know  what  port  your  ship  is  bound 
for,  and  not  to  drift  at  the  mercy  of  every  passing 
breeze. 

All  pursuits  have  their  good  and  bad  sides,  and 
there  is  no  royal  road  to  -prosperity.  The  average 
man  is  fitted  quite  a3  well  for  one  occupation  as  for 
another,  and  the  same  principles  of  action  will  bring 
success  in  every  line  of  effort.  Aptitude  comes  as 
much  from  special  training  as  from  native  gifts.  The 
"  all-round"  man  will  make  his  way  anywhere. 

A  boy  of  fifteen,  near  Philadelphia,  fretted  and 
annoyed  his  friends  by  refusing  to  study,  and  was  al- 
ways hanging  around  the  church  and  seizing  chances 
to  play  the  organ.  No  one  discerned  the  boy's  latent 
musical  gifts,  till  the  rector  was  consulted  in  the 


WJiat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?         3 

matter ;  and  now  the  boy  is  earning  good  pay  as  an 
organist.  Another  boy  in  Chicago,  whose  father  had 
marked  musical  talent,  which,  however,  was  never 
developed,  has  been  paid  as  high  as  $75  a  week  as  a 
violinist,  with  prospects  of  a  brilliant  future. 

Such  parental  blunders  seem  almost  criminal,  yet 
it  is  difficult  to  prevent  them. 

As  the  new-born  duck  takes  to  the  water,  so  Ben- 
jamin West  painted  the  baby  asleep  in  the  cradle, 
Webster  committed  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  printed  on  a  handkerchief  to  memory,  and  a 
thousand  other  youth  instinctivel}^  turned  toward 
the  bourne  of  their  desires.  Little  Tom  Macaulay, 
stretched  on  a  rug  at  Hannah  More's  house  with  a 
book  in  one  hand  and  a  slice  of  bread  in  the  other, 
was  the  precursor  of  Lord  Macaulay,  the  historian, 
just  as  James  Watt,  curiously  watching  his  aunt's 
tea-kettle,  was  the  progenitor  of  the  inventor  of  the 
steam-engine. 

Charles  Kingsley,  a  clergyman's  son,  began  to 
preach  to  a  congregation  of  chairs,  when  he  was  four ; 
at  seven  he  interrupted  a  Latin  lesson  to  point  to  the 
grate  with  the  exclamation:  "Papa,  there's  pyrites 
in  the  coal" ;  his  poetic  imagination  found  free  devel- 
opment among  the  Fens,  while  his  earl}^  impressions 
of  life  in  a  Devonshire  port  resulted  in  the  poem  of 
the  "Three  Fishers." 

Where  a  boy  has  strong  and  positive  tendencies,  it 
is  not  wise  to  oppose  them.  The  child  is  father  to 
the  man.  Observe  what  traits  he  inherits,  and  whom 
among  his  relatives  he  most  resembles;  whether  he 
has  mechanical  or  musical  or  mathematical  gifts. 
Notice  what  kind  of  playmates  he  selects,  and  what 


4  What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

amusements  give  him  most  pleasure.  Does  he  enjoy 
whittling  and  handling  tools?  Is  he  forever  poring 
over  books?  Has  he  any  fondness  for  drawing? 
Does  he  like  to  swap  marbles  and  jack-knives  with 
his  friends?  With  boys  of  strong  natures  it  is  easy 
to  find  some  clew  to  their  natural  tendencies.  Often 
they  choose  their  own  pursuit  in  life  and  save  their 
friends  the  trouble. 

It  is  more  difficult  with  the  youth  who  is  wrong- 
headed  or  fanciful;  who  wants  to  be  a  pirate,  or  to 
fight  Indians,  or  to  go  to  sea.  Such  boys  must 
be  handled  like  young  colts,  with  tact  and  discre- 
tion. 

Then  there  are  the  "Miss  Nancy"  kind  of  youth, 
who  will  not  venture  to  do  anything  that  is  not  gen- 
teel, and  who  dislike  to  soil  their  delicate  fingers. 
With  such  finical  fellows  I  have  small  concern.  A 
berth  in  a  broker's  or  law  office,  where  the  hours  are 
short  and  the  work  easy,  with  the  companionship  of 
other  dudes,  will  satisfj"  them. 

Lastly,  and  most  important,  are  the  boys  who 
make  up  the  great  average,  who  have  no  special 
capacity  or  tendency  in  any  one  direction,  but  who 
are  steady,  honest,  fairly  intelligent,  with  moderate 
energy;  who  will  keep  pegging  away,  and,  if  prop- 
erl}^  started  in  life,  will  at  least  gain  a  decent  living. 
They  are  the  sons  of  Lincoln's  "  plain  people" ;  and, 
while  they  maj^  not  set  the  Thames  on  fire,  they  will, 
in  most  cases,  get  along  in  the  world. 

The  future  lot  of  most  bo^s  is  usually  the  result  of 
circumstance.  If  they  make  a  wise  choice,  and  the 
square  peg  gets  into  the  square  hole,  happj^  are  they. 
But  if  the  born  machinist  becomes  a  lawyer's  clerk  or 


fJliat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do /oi-  a  Living?         5 

book-keeper,  and  the  natural  farmer  takes  to  selling 
dry-goods,  thej-  will  surely  regret  it  later  on,  and 
will  wish  they  had  had  some  wise  counsellor  to  set 
them  right  at  the  start.  Like  Da\dd  Crockett,  "  Be 
sure  you  are  right,  and  then  go  ahead." 

Fifty-four  pupils  in  the  High  School  at  Salina, 
Kansas,  were  lately  asked  what  calling  they  preferred. 
Four  chose  law,  six  business,  three  wanted  to  be 
book-keepers,  one  to  study  medicine,  two  preferred 
the  railroad  service,  —not  a  single  boy  wanted  to  be  a 
teacher,  or  a  stenographer,  or  to  learn  a  trade.  One 
wanted  to  be  a  musician  and  another  to  be  a  poli- 
tician (!).  More  than  half  had  changed  their  earlier 
plans,  because  they  had  not  enough  means  to  carry 
them  out. 


CHAPTEE  n. 

QUALIFICATIONS. 

Aptitude— Strong  and  Weak  Points — Law  of  Compensation — 
Sharpen  your  Tools  — Self -Examination  —  Two  Examination- 
Papers. 

Next  to  inclination  comes  the  question  of  aptitude. 
Youth  is  ambitious.  It  would  scale  the  stars  and 
plan  impossible  deeds.  It  is  wise,  therefore,  to  gauge 
your  mental  and  physical  powers,  and  by  study  and 
comparison  with  others  learn  your  strong  and  weak 
points. 

The  soldier  looks  to  his  weapons  before  battle. 
The  jockey  tightens  his  girths  and  examines  every 
buckle  and  strap  in  his  harness.  The  mariner  sounds 
his  pumps  and  overhauls  his  ship  before  sailing. 
The  locomotive  engineer  oils  his  cranks  and  sees  that 
the  valves  and  gauges  are  in  order.  So  also  the  youth 
should  carefully  consider  his  equipment  for  life's 
contest.  Most  men  possess  the  same  mental  traits, 
but  in  varying  proportions.  It  is  common  to  rate 
every  one  by  his  best  gifts,  but  a  man,  like  a  chain,  is 
no  stronger  than  his  weakest  part.  All  have  "the 
faults  of  their  qualities."  The  bright  boy  will  be 
rash,  the  slow  youth  over-cautious.  If  you  can  lift 
great  weights  you  cannot  be  a  runner,  and  the  agile 
athlete  is  no  Hercules.  The  bookworm  will  be  dis- 
tanced in  practical  affairs,  while  the  rule-of-thumb 
man  cannot  cope  with  the  trained  expert. 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Bo  for  a  Living  ?  7 

So,  also,  intellectual  brilliancy  is  often  neutralized 
by  moral  weakness.  Tlie  highest  genius  may  be 
offset  by  a  lazy  or  procrastinating  habit.  How  many 
gifted  men  have  been  destroyed  by  dissipation?  The 
Law  of  Compensation,  so  finely  illustrated  by  Emer- 
son, should  encourage  the  young  man  of  moderate 
abilities,  and  warn  his  brilliant  rival  not  to  be  over- 
confident. Any  moral  taint  infects  the  whole  man. 
"He  that  ruleth  his  spirit  is  greater  than  he  that 
taketh  a  citj'."  Therefore  fortify  your  weak  points, 
and  thus  strengthen  youx  resources. 

The  whole  aim  of  education  should  be  to  develop 
a  man's  higher  nature;  to  teach  him  to  understand 
and  master  himself ;  to  supply  a  sword  to  cut  his  way, 
and  a  shield  to  guard  him  from  the  enemy's  assaults. 
Mental  development  will  not  serve  without  moral 
growth,  any  more  than  a  ship  can  face  a  storm  with- 
out a  rudder. 

You  can  get  some  help  in  self-knowledge  from 
phrenology,  though  its  analysis  of  the  mind  is  em- 
pirical and  its  practitioners  are  apt  to  flatter  their 
patrons.  It  will  at  least  give  you  some  idea  of  your 
tendencies,  and  it  may  save  you  from  attempting 
things  for  which  you  are  wholly  unfitted. 

In  the  old  myth  the  good  fairy's  gifts  to  the  infant 
were  always  offset  by  some  ill  fortune.  Like  Achilles, 
every  one  is  vulnerable  in  some  spot.  Erastus  Brooks 
used  to  say,  "Every  man  has  some  form  of  drunk." 
Therefore  do  not  boast  of  your  strength,  but  humbly 
pray  not  to  be  led  into  temptation,  and  be  charitable 
toward  those  who  fail  to  resist  it. 

I  would  rather  have  the  moral  equipment  of  a 
Sumner  or  Garrison,   Horace  Mann   or   "Chinese" 


8         Jf^hat  Shall  Oar  Boys  Do  for  a  Living? 

Gordon,  than  the  most  gigantic  intellect  bereft  of 
principle.  The  instant  a  public  man  shows  moral 
delinquency,  whether  he  be  a  Webster,  a  Colfax,  a 
Parnell,  Sir  Charles  Dilke  or  Boulanger,  he  loses  the 
esteem  of  the  best  people.  Therefore  do  not  envy  or 
be  abashed  because  other  men  are  brilliant,  but  wait 
and  see  what  are  the  compensating  qualities  in  their 
make-up. 

Most  young  persons  exclaim :  "  I  want  to  do  some- 
thing!" But  they  must  first  he  something,  and  to 
this  end  thej^  must  studj'  and  train  themselves.  To 
get  knowledge  costs  labor  and  time.  Are  you  willing 
to  make  the  effort? 

In  every  calling  capacity  is  the  chief  element  of 
success.  If  you  have  something  salable  to  dispose 
of,  you  can  usually  command  your  price.  Talent  is 
latent,  but  skill  is  due  to  training.  The  poet  is  born, 
but  practice  makes  perfect. 

A  man's  brain,  like  any  other  tool,  must  have  an 
edge  to  it.  Therefore,  I  say  to  young  men :  Shaiyen 
your  tools  on  any  grindstone  you  can  find — books, 
school-teachers,  lectures,  conversation,  or  contact  with 
men  or  things.  This  is  what  we  call  education — de- 
velopment from  within,  not  a  plaster  placed  without. 

Ward's  "Indian  Hunter"  in  Central  Park,  New 
York,  shows  the  untutored  savage,  with  no  weapons 
but  his  bow  and  no  aid  but  his  dog,  but  with  everj^ 
faculty  trained  to  the  utmost.  He  is  "  a  v/hole  man, " 
and  not,  like  so  many  civilized  beings,  a  warped,  in- 
ert, incapable  creature.  Much  of  the  mental  equip- 
ment furnished  in  our  schools  and  colleges  suggests 
Saul's  cumbersome  armor,  which  Da\'id  rejected  in 
favor  of  his  sling;   or  it  may  be  compared  to  the 


Wliai  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?         9 

firecrackers  and  gongs  with  which  the  Chinese 
frighten  their  enemies.  George  Combe's  admirable 
simile  of  the  sailor  preparing  for  a  voyage,  3'et  igno- 
rant of  his  destination;  without  a  chart,  not  knowing 
what  cargo  he  carries  or  what  to  do  with  it,  is  still 
applicable  to  the  graduates  of  many  schools. 

It  would  be  a  good  discipline  for  any  one  to  honestly 
set  down  his  exact  mental  and  moral  traits,  after  the 
manner  of  an  application  for  life  insurance,  or  of  a 
civil-service  blank,  thus : 

Do  you  come  of  health}^  stock? 

What  are  3' our  weak  i^oints  physically? 

Do  you  inherit  energy,  industry,  courage  and 
nerve? 

Are  you  lazy,  selfish,  fond  of  display,  extravagant, 
vain,  prone  to  any  form  of  dissipation,  or  untruthful? 

Do  you  like  work? 

Do  you  ever  save? 

Who  are  your  heroes,  and  what  are  your  ideals? 

Do  you  wish  merely  to  have  money  and  enjoy  life? 

What  are  your  favorite  books  and  authors? 

With  whom  do  you  associate,  and  are  you  made 
better  or  worse  by  such  associates  ? 

Are  -yon  at  all  interested  in  public  affairs? 

Suppose  a  young  man  should  prepare  an  advertise- 
ment or  poster  after  the  style  of  the  Horse  or  Dog 
Show,  setting  forth  his  qualifications  and  pedigree, 
somewhat  in  this  fashion : 

CASE  NO.    1. 

Stock :  Good  English  blood,  with  respectable  sur- 
roundings and  cultivated  associates. 
Training:    Not    broken    to    harness.      Has  been 


10       What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

through  a  public  school  aud  college,  but  has  never 
been  taught  anything  practical. 

Habits :  Don't  like  hard  work,  and  shies  at  obstacles 
and  tough  pulling.  Temj^er,  fair;  doesn't  bite  or 
kick,  but  has  never  been  tested. 

CASE  NO.    2. 

Capacit}' :  Can  work  ten  hours  a  day  with  relish. 
Understands  two  languages.  Can  write  and  speak 
English  correctly.  Has  practised  at  a  debating-club, 
and  knows  how  to  talk  on  his  feet. 

Temper:  Genial,  sociable,  makes  friends  easily, 
yet  is  not  given  to  dissipation.  Ambitious,  confident, 
yet  not  conceited;  has  a  vein  of  caution.  Saves  a 
little  money  every  year. 

Training :  Has  had  some  drill  in  a  business  college, 
and  has  travelled  considerably. 

Has  no  bad  habits. 

Suppose  you  also  answer  the  following  questions. 

What  do  you  know  of  the  every-day  things  right 
around  you? 

Could  you  explain  the  working  of  the  telephone, 
steam-engine,  or  electric  light? 

Can  you  distinguish  one  common  forest-tree  from 
another  hj  its  leaves  or  bark? 

Do  you  know  the  points  of  a  horse? 

Can  you  tell  a  good  painting  or  statue  from  a  bad 
one? 

Have  you  heard  the  notable  preachers  or  orators 
of  your  time,  or  visited  the  famous  institutions  of 
your  home? 

Do  you  read  the  best  books  aud  periodicals  or  the 
worst? 


What  Shall  Our  Boi/s  Do  for  a  Living  ?        11 

Could  you  explain  to  an  intelligent  and  curious  for- 
eigner liow  an  election  for  president  or  governor  is 
conducted,  or  why  you  believe  in  a  democratic  form 
of  government? 

Have  3'ou  ever  been  through  a  printing-establish- 
ment, rolling-mill,  ship-yard,  grain-elevator,  prison, 
or  fort? 

Can  you  talk  intelligently  to  a  company  of  half  a 
dozen  persons  without  diffidence  or  effrontery? 

Can  you  sail  a  boat,  swim,  shoot,  skate,  chop  a  tree, 
or  plow  a  furrow? 

If  you  were  shipwrecked  and  cast  on  a  desert  island, 
could  you  be  of  any  real  service? 

Have  you  ever  earned  $10  at  one  time? 

I  fancy  such  a  test  would  take  the  conceit  out  of 
some  youngsters. 


CHAPTER  in. 

PHYSICAL  EQUIPMENT. 

Health  a  Boy's  Chief  Capital— Value  of  Staying-Powers— 
Smoking  and  Drinking  —  Danger  of  Overstudy  —  Work  Per- 
formed by  Semi-Invalids  —  Unwholesome  Occupations — Out- 
door Exercise — Cultivate  a  Love  of  Nature — The  Strain  of  Re- 
sponsibility— Learn  to  "  Go  Slow.  " 

President  Eliot  says :  "  Professional  success  de- 
pends largely  upon  the  vigor  of  the  body" ;  and  this 
is  true  in  every  pursuit.  A  boy  should  be  a  good 
animal.  His  best  luck  would  be  to  have  healthy 
parents.  Staying-power  is  a  vital  factor.  The  youth 
who  can  study  longest  and  work  hardest  is  apt  to  win 
first  place.  If  he  saps  his  constitution  by  cigarette- 
smoking  or  dissipation,  he  simply  throws  away  his 
chance.  Regarding  tobacco,  I  told  my  son:  "You 
must  not  smoke  until  you  have  reached  your  growth; 
then  you  can  decide  for  yourself."  Mr.  Beecher 
said  to  an  audience  of  business  men :  "  If  you  want 
to  use  your  brain  to  the  best  advantage,  don't  fuddle 
it  with  liquor."  A  healthy  man  has  no  use  for  stimu- 
lants.    Every  one  knows  their  danger. 

Good  health  insures  cheerfulness  as  well  as  endur- 
ance. It  saves  from  crankiness,  laziness  and  despon- 
dency. How  many  men  are  made  miserable  and 
become  a  nuisance  to  their  associates  because  of  dys- 
pepsia?   Every  young  man  should  read  some  book 


WJiat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?       13 

like  Combe's  or  Huxley's  "Physiology,"  and  learn 
how  to  preserve  his  health,  which  is  his  chief  capi- 
tal. 

Edison,  who  can  toil  for  forty-eight  hours  without 
rest  or  food,  knows  no  leisure  and  is  prematurely  old. 
Napoleon  defied  fatigue,  but  he  had  fits  of  sleepi- 
ness. He  lost  two  battles  from  over-eating.  Nature 
will  have  her  revenge  for  any  excess.  As  Dr.  Foth- 
ergill  illustrates  in  his  "Law  of  Physiological  Bank- 
ruptcy," every  hour  of  over-strain  must  be  balanced 
by  an  hour  of  rest,  or  the  physical  bank  will  stop 
payment. 

Young  men  should  be  warned  against  over-study. 
Dr.  Hammond  mentions  two  brilliant  3'oung  men  who 
were  offered  $10,000,  if  either  graduated  at  the  head 
of  his  class.  The  younger  stuck  to  his  books  sixteen 
hours  a  da}^,  and,  failing  (from  exhaustion,  doubt- 
less) increased  his  study  to  eighteen  hours.  He 
broke  down,  and  died  in  wild  delirium,  shouting: 
"  Derby  will  get  the  valedictory  !" 

It  is  the  pace  that  tells.  Those  who  strain  their 
faculties  in  youth  i^ay  the  penalty  b}^  premature 
death  or  breakdown.  Americans  must  learn  to  work 
rationally  to  accomplish  great  things. 

To  the  eager  beginner,  and  especially  to  the  delicate 
youth,  I  would  point  to  the  remarkable  achievements 
of  semi-invalids  in  every  walk  of  life.  We  have  lately 
seen  extraordinary  examples  of  mental  vigor  at  an 
advanced  age  in  the  cases  of  Gladstone,  Von  Moltke, 
Pope  Leo  XIII.,  Emerson,  Bryant,  O.  W.  Holmes, 
Commodore  Vanderbilt,  David  Dudley  Field,  Bis- 
marck, George  Bancroft,  Cardinal  Manning,  Dr. 
Willard    Parker,     Judge    Thurman,     and     Charles 


14       WJiat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

O' Conor.  Yet  maii}^  of  these  octogenarians  were  far 
from  strong  in  early  life. 

In  choosing  an  occupation,  the  question  of  health 
is  all-important.  An  active  life  should  always  be 
preferred  to  a  sedentarj^  one.  I  would  rather  be  a 
car-driver  or  conductor  than  be  penned  up  in  a  dingj^ 
office  at  twice  the  pay. 

Clergymen  are  specially  long-lived,  because  their 
habits  are  regular.  They  are  not  exposed  to  the  ele- 
ments, seldom  miss  their  meals  or  their  sleep,  and 
have  not  much  worry.  Lawyers  come  next,  and  lit- 
erary men  and  scholars  rank  high  for  longevity. 
Doctors  lead  irregular  lives  and  die  in  their  prime. 
Farmers  and  sailors  appear  to  be  healthful,  yet  they 
suffer  from  rheumatism  and  other  effects  of  exposure. 
Farmers'  wives  often  become  insane  because  of  their 
monotonous  and  arduous  labor.  Factory-hands, 
printers,  tailors,  shoemakers,  and  other  persons  who 
labor  in  ill-ventilated  shops  and  workrooms,  espe- 
cially if  exposed  to  grit  or  dust,  suffer  from  lung 
troubles  and  other  disorders.  In  Great  Britain  the 
shortest-lived  classes  are  tavern-keepers  and  butchers, 
who  are  tempted  to  drink.  The  ruddy  faces  of  brake- 
men,  drivers,  porters,  and  out-door  workers  of  all 
kinds  show  that  their  occupations  are  healthful.  It 
is  the  same  with  bricklayers  and  masons,  in  contrast 
to  miners  and  file-cutters. 

Every  youth  should  join  a  gymnasium  or  boat- 
club,  ride  a  bicycle,  and  take  plenty  of  out-door  exer- 
cise. Many  employers  compel  their  clerks  to  take 
vacations,  as  they  work  all  the  better  for  the  rest  and 
change.  Physical  exercise  is  especially  needed  in 
cities,  to  counteract  the  tendency  to   deterioration. 


JVJiat  Shall  Our  Botjh  Do  for  a  Lluhnj  ?        15 

Cities  are  "tlie  great  maws  which  eat  up  the  vital 
force  of  the  people."  Good  health  is  au  aid  to  good 
morals.  The  soft-fibred  nations  are  most  given  to 
immorality,  and  create  "degenerates."  Kational 
recreation  is  a  safeguard  against  vice. 

Americans  are  lazy,  and  too  fond  of  driving  and  of 
billiards.  They  should  cultivate  the  English  habit 
of  pedestrianism,  and  not  think  that  holding  the  reins 
behind  a  trotter  is  the  ideal  enjoyment.  They  should 
learn  to  love  nature,  and  then  they  would  take  keen 
delight  in  rambles  amid  the  woods  or  by  the  sea- 
shore, and  in  out-door  study  and  observation.  Read 
John  Burroughs'  bracing  books  to  acquire  such 
tastes. 

Exercise  should  not  aim  merely  to  make  muscle,  but 
to  supply  a  good  appetite,  good  digestion,  and  good 
sleep.  Julian  Hawthorne  points  out  that  champion 
athletes  are  mere  shells  of  muscle,  who  grow  stale, 
pine  away,  and  are  old  at  forty-five;  and  an  English 
reviewer  remarks  :  "  Earl}'  maturity  means  premature 
decay."  Moderation  in  all  things,  whether  physical 
or  intellectual,  is  the  secret  of  long  life. 

Physical  strength  is  essential  in  many  positions. 
One  reason  why  women  cannot  compete  with  men  in 
many  occupations  is  because  they  cannot  lift  heavy 
articles,  like  printers'  forms,  or  work  long  hours,  or 
come  and  go  late  at  night. 

A  number  of  men  who  have  won  fame  and  fortune 
have  recently  died,  while  still  in  the  prime  of  life, 
notably  Col.  John  Cockerell,  formerly  of  the  New 
York  World;  H.  C.  Bunner,  editor  of  Pack;  and 
Col.  F.  K.  Hain,  manager  of  the  Manhattan  Ele- 
vated Railway.     T.  C.  Potter,  who  was  made  general 


16       What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  TAving  ? 

manager  of  the  Union  Pacific,  with  a  salary  of  $30,- 
000,  and  a  bonus  of  $10,000  annually,  died  in  two 
years  from  over-work.  Men  in  i)ositions  of  respon- 
sibility should  refuse  to  do  anything  which  can  be 
delegated  to  others,  and  thus  save  their  strength  for 
really  important  matters.  Corporations  and  business 
firms  should  encourage  their  managers  in  so  doing,  so 
as  to  maintain  their  highest  efficiency. 

Any  one  who  observes  the  worn  and  wearied  look  on 
so  many  men's  faces  can  appreciate  that,  as  Herbert 
Spencer  pointed  out  in  1882,  Americans  need  to  prac- 
tise "The  Gospel  of  Eelaxation."  The  increasing 
devotion  to  wheeling  and  other  forms  of  out-door  ex- 
ercise is  therefore  an  encouraging  sign. 

The  number  of  suicides  from  despondency  and 
nervous  exhaustion  is  evidence  of  a  lack  of  stamina 
and  pluck,  due  to  our  artificial  and  high-pressure 
civilization.  No  man  in  health  should  seek  self- 
destruction,  or  give  up  the  fight,  when  there  are  such 
boundless  opportunities  to  make  a  fresh  start  after 
one  or  several  failures. 

Many  men  become  weak  and  inert,  just  at  the 
period  known  to  phj^sicians  as  "the  forties,"  when 
they  should  be  able  to  do  their  best.  Young  men 
who  are  ambitious  to  achieve  great  things  must  hus- 
band their  resources  and  recognize  the  importance  of 
the  element  of  time  in  all  undertakings.  Therefore 
don't  be  in  a  hurry,  but  make  haste  slowly,  "like  a 
star,  unhasting — unresting." 


CHAPTEll  IV. 

HOW  ARE  YOU  TRAINING  YOUR  CHILDREN? 

Study  Children's  Traits — Home  Training  Supplements  the 
School — Make  Companions  of  Children — Table-Talk — Vividness 
of  Early  Impressions — Cultivate  Children's  Curiosity — Don't 
Coddle  Them. 

A  WELL-KNOWN  woman  journalist  wrote  regarding 
this  question,  which  was  the  topic  for  discussion  be- 
fore a  New  York  club :  "  I  don't  know  how  other 
I)arents  manage,  but  I  am  free  to  admit  that  my  chil- 
dren are  training  me.  I  started  with  some  ideas,  but 
so  did  they,  and  it  is  theirs  which  are  being  carried 
out.  If  any  of  your  club  can  tell  me  how  I  can  get 
ahead  a  little,  I  shall  be  charmed  to  try  the  method." 

The  same  confession  would  doubtless  be  made  by 
many  other  American  parents.  "Train  up  a  boy 
and  away  he  goes,"  said  Captain  Cuttle,  yet  right 
training,  as  a  rule,  makes  good  men  and  women. 

We  are  slowly  discovering  that  we  must  study  our 
children's  mental  and  moral  traits,  and  the  wisest 
men  and  women  of  the  age  are  following  Froebel  and 
Pestalozzi,  and  trying  to  comprehend  just  how  chil- 
dren observe  and  reason,  and  how  they  grow.  It  is 
a  hard  task,  but  quite  as  interesting  and  perhaps  as 
important,  as  studying  the  nature  and  habits  of  bees 
and  ants.  Kipling  says  only  women  understand  chil- 
dren, but  that,  if  a  mere  man  keeps  very  quiet  and 
2 


18       What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livuxj  ? 

humbles  himself  proi)erly,  children  will  sometimes 
let  him  see  what  they  are  thinking  about.  Few 
fathers,  alas !  are  willing  to  take  that  trouble. 

Most  persons,  without  much  reflection,  send  their 
children  to  school  because  it  is  the  custom  to  do  it, 
or  because  it  is  convenient  to  get  them  out  of  the 
way.  Few  ever  visit  the  school  to  see  how  the  boy 
or  girl  is  progressing.  All  responsibility  is  thrown 
on  the  teacher,  and  the  parents  don't  bother  them- 
selves any  further.  They  want  their  children  to 
learn  to  read,  write  and  cipher,  and  obtain  a  smat- 
tering of  useful  information  and  accomplishments; 
as  if  that  was  the  sole  purpose  of  education.  The 
value  of  education  as  a  means  toward  building  char- 
acter is  ignored,  and  the  I'esult  is  seen  in  the  low 
standard  of  achievement  attained  by  the  mass  of  the 
pupils. 

Home  training  should  supply  the  deficiencies  of 
the  school  course,  but  what  sort  of  training  are  ordi- 
nary parents  capable  of  giving? 

Harriet  Martineau  held  that  home  training  had 
advantages  on  the  moral  side,  but  that  school  train- 
ing was  better  on  the  intellectual  side.  There  is  no 
stimulus  like  rubbing  shoulders  with  other  students 
who  have  like  interests  and  aspirations.  One  also 
gains  knowledge  of  the  world  and  of  human  nature  at 
school,  which  cannot  be  obtained  at  home. 

Private  schools  are  not,  in  my  judgment,  equal  to 
public  schools,  for  the  reason  that  the  pupils  in  the 
former  belong  to  but  one  grade  of  society.  I  be- 
lieve that  a  boy  should  mix  freely  with  other  boys, 
and  not  be  too  restricted  in  his  associations.  The 
public  school  represents  the  world  in  little,  and  it  is 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  LiviiKj  ?        19 

the  best  traiiiing  for  the  great  world  we  all  have  to 
live  and  work  in.  The  pupils  show  a  certain  manly 
vigor  and  democratic  spirit  which  can  only  be  ob- 
tained by  mixing  with  boys  of  all  ages  and  degrees. 
The  subject  of  going  to  school  will  be  dealt  with  later. 
But,  whatever  the  school,  the  system,  discipline, 
and  stimulus  have  a  beneficial  effect.  In  the  domestic 
circle  the  child  soon  quotes  his  teacher  as  an  oracle, 
and  marvels  at  his  attainments. 

— "And  still  the  wonder  grew. 
That  one  small  head  could  carry  all  he  knew.  " 

But  the  parent  can  supplement  the  teachers'  labors 
if  he  cannot  su^iersede  them,  and  open  the  boy's  mind 
to  things  not  supplied  in  the  school  course.  I  have 
noticed  that  the  very  rarity  of  the  father's  presence 
causes  what  he  says  or  does  to  have  greater  influence 
than  the  mother's  constant  urging.  On  the  other 
hand,  improjjer  home  training  may  neutralize  the 
school  instruction.  If  the  child  hears  bad  English 
spoken  at  home,  and  sees  its  parents  eat  with  their 
knives,  it  will  surely  imitate  them. 

Fortunate  is  the  boy  or  girl  who  is  brought  up  in  a 
real  "Home,"  with  sisters  and  brothers  and  play- 
mates of  both  sexes.  Nothing  tends  more  to  breed 
selfishness  than  to  be  an  only  child.  The  free  inter- 
course of  girls  and  boys  in  the  family,  as  in  the  school, 
exerts  a  bracing  effect  on  both  sexes.  Jean  Paul 
liichter  said  it  is  even  better  for  girls  than  for  boys. 
In  such  a  home  there  are  healthful  vents  for  animal 
spirits  and  youthful  excitement.  Books  and  pictures 
should  abound,  though  the  talk  need  not  be  too  liter- 
ary, so   that    young  folks    may    absorb   knowledge 


20       What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

through  their  skins.  James  Russell  Lowell,  though 
a  careless  student  at  college,  lived  in  an  atmosphere 
of  culture  and  "  breathed  it  in. " 

Experienced  teachers  can  tell  at  once  whether 
pupils  receive  proper  home  training.  Wliere  books 
and  pictures  and  magazines  abound,  and  the  talk  is 
not  all  about  petty  trifles  and  gossip,  children's 
minds  expand.  Where  the  reverse  is  the  case,  they 
become  mentally  and  morally  stunted. 

Jean  Paul  Richter  notes  at  what  an  early  age  chil- 
dren can  be  treated  as  rational  beings.  Companion- 
ship with  adults  has  a  wonderful  ejffect  upon  them. 
If  a  group  of  boys  and  girls  start  alone  on  a  walk, 
they  are  almost  sure  to  squabble  about  something, 
whereas  they  will  be  perfectly  happy  with  their 
elders.  Where  there  is  not  too  much  difference  of 
age  among  the  members  of  a  family,  children  can  be 
made  true  companions.  Yarietj-  of  taste  can  be  cul- 
tivated, and  music,  art,  elocution  and  literature  will 
all  have  their  votaries. 

Talk  freely  to  your  children  at  table,  and  keep  in 
touch  with  their  feelings  and  interests.  Almost  any 
topic  can  be  made  interesting  to  the  young,  if  it  is 
not  dragged  in  by  the  neck  and  ears,  like  the  tutor's 
discourses  in  "Sandford  and  Merton,"  and  made  the 
subject  of  a  sermon  or  a  lecture.  In  the  street,  on 
the  ferryboat  or  steam-car,  or  when  walking  through 
woods  or  by  the  seashore,  seize  the  moment  of  ex- 
cited curiosity  to  supply  food  for  thought  and  for  in- 
formation. It  is  enough  to  set  children  thinking; 
you  touch  the  imagination,  and  they  do  the  rest. 
Who  can  describe  the  vivid  imi)ressions  which  the 
panorama  of  life  creates  in  the  mind  of  the  ordinary 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?       21 

child?  The  picturesque  record  of  the  daily  journals — 
earthquakes,  shijjwrecks,  conflagrations,  and  all  the 
"  moving  accidents  b}'  flood  and  field" — interest  every 
child,  because  they  are  new,  but  still  more  because 
they  are  true.  Every  girl  or  boy  prefers  a  story  that 
is  "  really  so, "  just  as  the  Indian  students  at  Hamp- 
ton take  a  deep  interest  in  history,  but  will  not  listen 
to  fiction;  and  such  incidents  as  the  sinking  of  the 
Elbe  or  the  Maine,  the  Johnstown  flood,  or  the  Colum- 
bian Naval  Parade,  appeal  to  the  youthful  imagination 
more  than  the  greatest  events  of  the  past  or  the  most 
romantic  tale. 

When  my  children  repeated  the  facts  they  had 
learned  in  this  way  to  their  playmates,  the  latter  ex- 
pressed great  surprise,  and  said :  "  Our  papa  never 
reads  the  paper  out  loud  or  tells  us  anything. "  Many 
fathers  are  too  inert  or  laz}"  to  do  their  duty;  and 
hence  the  triviality  and  flatness  of  the  table-talk  in 
many  homes. 

A  "New  Woman"  writes  in  defence  of  American 
mothers,  and  with  keen  iron}'  points  out  the  deficien- 
cies of  modern  fathers : 

"  One  might  wonder,  should  there  be  examples  of 
great  paternal  manliness  perpetually  before  our  boys, 
if  there  might  not  be  an  elevation  of  their  ideals ;  if, 
mayhap,  they  were  not  fed  at  table  upon  moral  meat 
that  nourishes  the  importance  of  money-getting  above 
aught  else,  upon  conversation  that  smacks  of  the 
gains  of  base-ball  teams,  or  upon  the  toothsome  pros- 
pect of  i)Ossibly  "  licking"  England.  Oue  wonders  if 
between  meals  and  business  hours  fathers  might  not 
plan  something  for  the  boys,  so  that  their  energies 
could  be  harmlessly  employed.     Might  not  fathers 


22       IVhal  Hhtll  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

select  for  and  read  with  })C)\  s  tliat  'good  reading'  so 
much  deplored  when  left  undone?  One  almost  won- 
ders why  boys  cannot  be  refined  into  fathers,  as  a 
short  cut  to  a  very  desirable  goal." 

At  Rugby,  famous  in  "Tom  Brown's  Schooldays," 
the  Ijoys  are  required  to  read  the  newspapers,  and  a 
recent  examination  pai)er  contained  (juestions  about 
the  Armenian  question,  Cuba,  the  Congo,  Madagas- 
car, the  race  for  the  American  Cup,  and  other  mat- 
ters of  current  interest.  The  Eev.  E.  E.  Hale  says 
his  mother  read  the  whole  of  the  Waverley  novels  to 
each  of  his  brothers  and  sisters  after  they  reached  a 
certain  age. 

The  most  vivid  impressions  of  my  childhood  were 
created  by  the  surging  life  of  the  city  streets,  the 
awful  dignity  of  the  New  York  "cop,"  the  shocking 
scenes  at  nearby  slaughter-houses  open  to  every 
passer-by,  the  walks  to  High  Bridge,  Greenwood 
Cemetery  and  the  Elysian  Fields,  the  circus  posters 
on  fence  and  wall,  the  excitement  and  thrill  of  great 
conflagrations ;  later  the  street  parades  to  celebrate 
the  laying  of  the  Atlantic  cable  and  the  visit  of  Kos- 
suth, the  arrival  of  the  monster  Great  Eastern,  the 
great  war-meetings  at  Union  Square  and  Cooper  In- 
stitute where  I  heard  Wendell  Phillii:)S,  Beecher, 
Charles  Sumner,  Curtis,  Fred  Douglas  and  Garrison 
speak ;  and  last,  but  not  least,  the  regiments  marching 
do^Ti  Broadway,  and  the  anxious  crowds  around  the 
bulletins,  the  thrilling  cry  of  "Extra!"  after  some 
deadly  battle,  the  rejoicing  over  the  victories,  the 
terror  and  disgrace  of  the  "  draft  riots,"  the  tragedy  of 
Lincoln's  assassination,  and  the  painful  spectacle  of 
the  fragments  of  battalions,  with  their  tattered  flags, 


Whnf  Shall  Oar  Bni/s  Dn  f,,r  a  Lii'lm/  ?        23 

returning  home.  Such  sights  and  scenes  stamj^ed 
themselves  upon  my  mind  in  a  manrwer  never  to  be 
effaced. 

So,  in  my  school  experience,  three  incidents  out- 
weigh in  vividness  all  the  tedious  six  years'  iustruc- 
tion:  the  lectures  upon  Pompeii,  by  the  late  James 
W.  Gerard;  an  account  of  "  bleeding  Kansas,"  by  an- 
other trustee,  who  showed  a  gigantic  ear  of  corn  with 
its  many  rows  of  grain,  from  that  fruitful  State;  and 
lastly,  a  glowing  sketch  of  the  inventor  of  the  modern 
locomotive,  by  our  principal,  David  B.  Scott,  which 
led  scores  of  his  hearers  to  read  Smiles'  admirable 
"Life  of  Stephenson,"  and  thus  opened  up  a  wide 
field  of  interest. 

Great  use  may  be  made  of  walks  amid  fine  scenery, 
or  to  famous  places  like  West  Point,  Stony  Point, 
Fort  Lafayette,  Old  Point  Comfort,  or  the  scene  of 
the  Hamilton-Burr  duel,  or  other  local  historic  scenes 
to  be  found  everywhere  if  you  take  the  trouble  to 
look  for  them.  I  never  feel  so  much  interest  in  his- 
tory as  when  standing  on  some  famous  site.  In- 
struction and  pleasure  can  be  combined  in  such  ex- 
cursions. 

Most  educated  persons  seem  to  be  half  blind.  How 
few  of  them  are  keen  observers  of  every-day  things. 
Sherlock  Holmes  has  showed  us  all  our  lack  of 
I)erception.  I  believe  in  developing  every  child's 
capacity  to  see  straight  and  true.  Practice  in  draw- 
ing is  a  great  aid  to  this.  You  never  discover  that 
you  don't  see  an  object  correctly  till  you  try  to  sketch 
it.  Any  one  who  can  learn  to  write  can  l)e  taught  to 
draw. 

Richter  says  we  should  continually  ask  childi'en, 


24        What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Lwiug  ? 

"Why?"  The  teacher's  queries  will  find  more  open 
ears  than  his  answers.  Dr.  Arnold  ever  sought  to 
make  his  Eugby  boys  find  out  things  for  themselves, 
and  rarely  told  them  what  they  wanted  to  know. 
Make  a  channel  for  the  child's  vital  force,  which  is 
wasted  in  i:)ranks  and  mischief,  and  it  will  quickly  fol- 
low your  lead.  An  active  child  will  soon  tire  of 
climbing  stairs,  but  the  steepest  hill  will  not  weary  if 
he  is  in  search  of  some  interesting  object. 

Most  children  have  an  insatiable  curiosity,  a  hun- 
ger to  know  about  every-day  things.  It  is  said  a 
child  learns  more  in  the  first  five  years  of  life  than 
ever  afterward.  I  would  rather  take  a  party  of  chil- 
dren to  visit  a  place  of  interest  than  an  average  adult. 
How  fresh  and  lively  their  interest !  How  quick  and 
accurate  their  observation,  and  how  receptive  their 
minds,  like  wax  to  retain  impressions !  In  compari- 
son, older  folks  seem  to  be  "thickly  padded  with 
stupidity,"  to  use  George  Eliot's  phrase. 

Children  are  wayward,  laz}-,  and  selfish,  but  they 
have  generous  instincts  and  a  keen  sense  of  right. 
They  are  the  best  companions  and  the  warmest 
friends.  One  can  easily  understand  why  Froebel  and 
Pestalozzi  gave  their  lives  to  children. 

John  Stuart  Mill,  who  was  the  subject  of  an  educa- 
tional experiment  made  by  his  father  and  Bentham, 
the  famous  economist,  said  that  his  father's  idea  was 
to  make  children  understand  one  thing  thoroughly, 
and  he  himself  believed  this  not  only  to  be  a  good 
exercise  for  the  mind,  but  to  create  in  them  a  stand- 
ard by  which  to  judge  of  their  knowledge  of  other 
subjects.  He  did  not  like  things  to  be  made  too  easy 
or  too  agreeable  to  children.     "The  plums  should 


What  SMI  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?        25 

not  be  picked  out  for  them,  or  it  is  very  doubtful 
whether  they  will  ever  be  at  the  trouble  of  learning 
what  is  less  pleasant."  For  childhood  the  art  is  to 
apportion  the  diflSculties  to  the  a^,  but  he  pointed 
out  that  in  life  there  is  no  such  adaptation.  Life 
must  be  a  struggle,  and  children  should  learn  to  over- 
come difficulties. 

A  striking  example  of  the  folly  of  attempting  to 
mould  children's  characters  after  a  fixed  and  arbitrary 
plan  was  shown  in  tlie  case  of  Mr.  Day,  author  of 
"  Sandford  and  Merton,"  who  educated  two  girls  from 
infancy  the  same  as  boys,  with  most  laughable  re- 
sults, as  nature  would  out,  and  when  forbidden  the 
pleasure  of  dolls  they  took  to  petting  and  nursing 
rabbits. 


CHAPTER  V. 

MORAL  TRAINING. 

Cultivate  Ideals  in  the  Young — Develop  Grace  and  Courtesy 
— Influence  of  Example — Home  Discipline — Physical  Courage — 
Excessive  Indulgence — Prudery  in  Parents. 

What  are  your  son's  powers  to  resist  evil?  Has 
his  bark  a  rudder  and  an  anchor?  Under  what  flag 
does  he  sail?  The  keenest  intellect  avails  little  with- 
out principle  to  guide  it.  Have  you  left  his  moral 
training  to  immature  Sunday-school  teachers  and 
domestic  servants?  ^Tiat  have  you  done  to  counter- 
act in  his  mind  the  spirit  of  speculation,  gambling, 
materialism  and  corruption  that  prevails  every- 
where? 

Froude,  the  historian,  says  of  his  early  training : 
"  We  were  told  that  our  sole  business  in  life  is  to  work 
and  to  make  an  honorable  position  for  ourselves." 
His  spiritual  instructions  did  not  go  beyond  the 
catechism.  This,  I  fancy,  is  the  rule  in  too  many 
families,  and  hence  there  is  a  lack  of  elevating  ideals, 
which  is  a  detriment  to  the  development  of  high  char- 
acter. To  create  a  lofty  spirit  in  a  boy,  keep  him  in 
touch  with  noble  thoughts  and  noble  deeds. 

Commodore  Schley  said  that  he  was  impelled  to  go  to 
the  rescue  of  Lieutenant  Greely  in  the  Arctic  regions 
by  the  recollection  of  some  verses  of  poeti'y  which  he 
had  read  in  childhood.     Heroism  is  contagious,  and 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livhifj  ?        27 

the  actions  of  brave  men  and  women  find  imitators  in 
every  age. 

Again,  teach  a  boy  never  to  do  anything  mean, 
cruel,  or  unmanly.  T\Tieu  I  had  a  Mission  School 
class  of  young  fellows,  who  mosth'  worked  at  trades, 
I  used  to  sum  up  all  my  teaching  by  saying:  "Don't 
be  a  coward  or  a  sneak."  Trilhifs  theory  of  life  was 
a  very  practical  one :  "  To  try  to  be  good,  always  to 
think  of  other  people  before  one's  self,  and  never  to 
tell  lies  or  be  afraid." 

Some  children  are  so  repressed  and  "bottled  up," 
that  when  the  cork  is  extracted  there  is  an  exf^losion, 
or  possibh'  only  lees  will  be  found.  The  right  con- 
ception of  training  is  made  clear  when  I  tend  m}- 
garden  vines  and  observe  how  gratefully  they  climb 
toward  the  light.  All  healthy  minds  naturally  seek 
truth. 

Again,  strive  to  develop  the  graces  of  the  body,  and 
teach  ease  and  self-command,  which  are  the  basis  of 
good  manners.  Athletics  help  to  this  end,  and  so 
does  dancing.  Thej'  carry  the  gawky  boy  or  girl 
quickly  through  the  hobbledehoy  age,  and  confer 
social  ease  and  freedom.  Good  address  and  the  art 
of  putting  one's  best  foot  forward  are  invaluable 
helps  in  every  calling,  and  usually  bring  honor  and 
fortune  to  those  who  possess  them. 

We  have  much  to  learn  from  the  Japanese  and 
other  Orientals  in  deference  and  consideration,  espe- 
cially toward  the  old.  In  such  matters  exam]ile  is 
better  than  precept.  In  New  York  we  are  suffering 
from  "elevated  railroad  rush,"  and  in  the  constant 
hurrj"  and  scramble  wo  crowd  the  weak,  and  ignore 
good  manners. 


28        U'hdf.  Shall  (hir  Jioi/s  Do  fw  a  Living  ? 

If  children  are  allowed  to  answer  back  and  say,  "  I 
won't,"  and  if  weak  parents  give  up  everything  to 
them,  both  must  suffer  the  consequence.  A  certain 
boy  of  my  acquaintance  used  to  take  the  morning 
paper  and  read  it  first.  His  father  said :  "  If  I  allow 
that,  you  will  grow  up  selfish,  but  here  is  part  of  the 
paper" ;  which  seemed  a  fair  compromise. 

If  we  would  build  up  true  manhood  in  others,  we 
must  exemplify  genuine  manhood.  If  we  would  cor- 
rect bad  habits  in  others,  we  must  be  sure  those  habits 
are  not  a  part  of  our  own  make-up.  "  If  we  would 
train  up  children  in  the  way  they  should  go,  it  is  a 
good  idea  to  skirmish  around  a  little  in  that  direction 
ourselves." 

Robert  Louis  Stevenson,  in  "  Weir  of  Hermiston," 
well  illustrates  the  contagion  of  example :  "  The  at- 
mosphere of  his  father's  industry  was  the  best  of 
Archie's  education;  even  though  it  repelled,  it  stimu- 
lated him." 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Parkhurst,  in  discussing  "Child 
Training,"  says  many  familiar  things  in  a  pointed 
way.  "  The  nursery  means  more  than  the  coUege,  be- 
cause it  is  initiative.  It  is  easier  to  make  people  bright 
than  it  is  to  make  them  sound,  yet  a  sound  brain  and 
an  unsound  life  are  incompatible.  To  learn  to  obey  is 
the  hardest,  jei  the  most  valuable  lesson  for  a  child. 
Love  cannot  abrogate  law,  and  if  our  homes  cannot 
teach  children  to  respect  authoritj'  there  will  soon 
be  no  authority  in  church  or  state  worth  respect- 
ing." 

Ex- Warden  A.  A.  Brush,  of  Sing  Sing,  declares 
that  lack  of  family  discipline,  and  parental  indulgence 
leading  to  insubordination  and  deception  by  chil- 


WJiat  Sfiall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livimj  ?        29 

dren,  are  the  chief  causes  of  crime.  Famih-  training 
is  the  most  important  aid  to  virtue.  We  must  instil 
obedience  in  the  young,  and  develop  character  to  re- 
sist temptation.  Family  training  should  be  seconded 
by  school  and  church  discipline. 

Yet  home  discipline  need  not  be  severe.  A  New 
York  merchant  remarked:  "The  most  trustworthy 
boys  and  men  I  have  known  have  not  been  subject  to 
strict  family  discipline,  but  were  those  who  had 
learned  self-control.  When  a  father  has  taught  his 
boy  to  guide  himself  b}'  his  reason  and  his  conscience, 
he  has  accomplished  a  high  result." 

A  prominent  lawyer  observes:  "It  is  an  egregious 
error  to  suppose  that  education  should  be  limited  to 
heads  and  hands.  Teach  children  a  proper  appre- 
ciation of  sentiment,  and  you  will  find  their  principles 
will  take  care  of  themselves." 

While  study  should  not  be  made  so  irksome  as  to 
repel,  neither  should  it  be  made  too  easy.  The  child 
should  be  spurred  on  to  overcome  difficulties.  A 
healthy  mind  will  prefer  this.  Rather  than  be  cod- 
dled and  helped  over  every  hedge  and  ditch,  it  will 
scramble  across  in  its  own  way. 

The  Bishop  of  Manchester,  like  Macaulay,  ob- 
jected to  giving  prizes  in  schools,  because  "  the  reward 
is  too  immediate,  and  success  in  life  does  not  come 
so  promptly. "  The  boy  or  girl  should  be  led  to  study 
and  improve  themselves,  not  for  the  rewards  or  praise, 
but  from  a  sense  of  duty.  This  will  prepare  them  to 
act  rightly  later  on,  when  they  meet  with  criticism 
and  neglect  instead  of  appreciation.  Freeman,  the 
historian,  failed  to  win  a  i)rize  in  history  while  at 
Oxford.      But   the   disappointment   only  stimulated 


30       IF/iat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

him  to  deeper  and  more  diligent  investigation,  and 
thus,  in  after-life,  he  came  to  look  ujjon  this  failure 
as  a  piece  of  good  fortune.  In  a  sense  we  are  in- 
debted to  Freeman's  rejected  essay  for  his  great  "  His- 
tory of  the  Norman  Conquest."  K.  W.  Gilder, 
editor  of  The  Century  magazine,  says  that  nursing 
and  coddling  are  bad  for  literary  beginners,  and  that 
early  failure  fosters  self-reliance  and  ability  to  stand 
alone. 

A  writer  remarks :  "  We  must  assiduously  improve 
these  early  years  for  the  child,  so  that  it  may  learn 
after  nature's  method,  more  as  a  series  of  pleasant 
surprises  than  as  tearful  tasks.  By  this  method 
Mozart  became  a  musician  at  seven,  Giotto  painted 
sheep  at  six,  Linnaeus  was  a  botanist  at  eight,  and 
Agassiz  a  naturalist  at  nine.  The  best  of  all  schools 
is  to  be  found  in  the  best  homes,  while  the  teachers 
whose  work  longest  endures  are  the  parents  them- 
selves." 

The  ideal  teacher  stimulates  the  pupil  to  think  and 
act  for  himself.  Such  a  teacher  strives  ever  to  efface 
himself  and,  to  quote  a  French  instructor,  "  to  become 
useless  to  his  class." 

Kobert  Louis  Stevenson  says :  "  Curiosity  and  in- 
terest are  the  things  in  the  world  that  are  most  imme- 
diately and  certainly  rewarded."  Therefore  cultivate 
these  faculties  in  the  young. 

Miss  Caroline  LeEow  remarks  that  habits  of  neat- 
ness should  be  taught  at  home.  Littering  the  floor 
with  bits  of  paper  or  pencil-shavings;  scattering 
crumbs;  leaving  greasy  traces  upon  walls,  furniture, 
and  books;  recklessly  using  ink,  chalk,  and  black- 
board dusters — in  nothing  does  the  home  training  of 


What  Sliall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Liuuif/Y        ol 

the  child   show   itself   more   plainly   thau    in   tliese 
things. 

It  is  far  better  for  a  child  to  show  high  spirits  and 
a  love  of  mischief  than  to  be  a  i)rig  or  a  weakling. 
School  principal  Boyer  says,  a  boy  who  never  gets 
into  scrapes  is  a  sick  boy .  Frederick  Robertson  C(juld 
not  bear  to  think  that  his  sou  was  afraid  of  anything, 
and  so  must  every  parent  feel.  The  boy  who  cannot 
defend  himself  when  pushed  to  the  wall  lacks  the 
first  elements  of  manliness.  I  once  knew  a  mother 
who  kept  her  boy  away  from  a  i)ublic  school  for  fear 
he  might  fight  with  other  boys.  When  he  came 
home  with  a  bruised  face  she  felt  very  badly.  But 
later  on  when  he  was  the  victor,  she  was  as  proud 
and  happy  as  any  mother  could  be. 

Admiration  for  physical  courage  is  universal.  The 
heroine  of  a  certain  novel  had  a  lover  of  fragile  phy- 
sique who  failed  to  defend  her  against  the  insults 
of  a  gang  of  roughs.  He  said  he  was  overmatched 
and  that  it  was  no  use  to  attack  them.  But  much 
as  she  admired  his  mental  traits,  she  felt  that 
he  ought  to  have  assailed  the  ruffians,  even  if 
killed  in  her  defense,  and  so  her  love  for  him 
cooled. 

"Tom  Brown's  School  Days"  shows  how  a  boy 
with  many  good  qualities,  but  with  strong  animal 
spirits  and  a  love  of  mischief,  can  got  into  scrapes 
and  acquire  bad  habits  which  will  spoil  his  whole  fu- 
ture. It  also  shows  how  such  faults  may  be  corrected 
by  inspiring  the  bo}'  with  higher  ideals  and  giving 
him  tasks  which  require  self-sacrifice  and  devotion  to 
duty.  Charles  Kingsley  heard  English  officers  at 
Aldershot    lament    that   they   had   not  read    "Tom 


32       What  Shall  Oar  Boys  Do  for  a  Livimj  ? 

Brown"  in  early  life,  as  they  might  have  become  quite 
different  men.     Every  boy  should  read  it. 

Daniel  Webster  was  an  example  of  a  large,  gener- 
ous nature  spoiled  by  lavish  gifts,  which  in  time  he 
grew  to  accept  with  a  certain  royal  condescension. 
Mr.  Lodge,  his  latest  biograi)her,  ascribes  his  care- 
lessness in  relation  to  money-matters  to  his  early 
habit  of  being  constantly  in  debt,  and  his  accepting 
as  a  matter  of  course  the  sacrifices  of  his  father  and 
brother  to  help  him  get  a  start  in  life.  If  Webster 
had  retained  more  of  the  lofty  Puritan  spirit  of  his 
ancestors,  he  would  not  later  have  sacrificed  principle 
to  policy  in  the  vain  hope  of  winning  the  Presidency. 


CHAPTEE  VI. 

HOME   LIFE   OF  FAMOUS  PERSONS. 

Miss  Frances  E.  Willard— Charles  Kingsley — Ruskin — "Wen- 
dell Phillips  and  Roundell  Palmer. 

It  is  interesting  to  study  the  lives  of  famous  men 
and  women,  and  observe  liow  they  were  brought  uj), 
or  how  they  trained  their  own  children. 

Miss  Frances  E.  Willard  insists  that  "  there  is  no 
teacher  and  no  school  that  can  compare  with  the  com- 
panionshij)  of  large-minded  and  loving-hearted  home- 
folks.  Forever  and  a  day  it  will  be  delightful  to  me 
to  remember  that  my  dear  mother  taught  me  A,  B, 
C.  She  was  not  in  the  least  bit  of  a  hurry  about  it 
either.  She  let  me  run  wild,  playing  the  same  games 
that  my  brother  did,  and  I  was  given  over  to  the  big 
out-doors,  until  at  last  I  fairl}-  cried  for  my  primer. " 

Regarding  her  religious  training,  she  says :  "  Father 
and  mother  did  not  teach  us  creeds ;  I  never  saw  a 
catechism  until  I  was  emerging  from  my  teens.  We 
read  the  Gospels,  and  sang  the  dear  old  hymns  hal- 
lowed by  generations  of  reverence  and  affection.  I 
think  it  w^as  the  hymns  wliicli  did  the  most  for  me, 
for  I  had  a  hardy  mind,  and  wondered  how  we  knew 
that  a  book  had  come  to  us  from  God,  and  used  to 
ask  my  mother  if  she  could  tell  me  who  had  seen  it 
handed  down,  and  whether  it  was  fastened  to  Heaven 
by  a  gold  chain?  She  never  said  that  I  was  naughty, 
3 


34       What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livinrf  ? 

but  would  take  mo  on  lior  kuee  and  talk  to  me  about 
the  wonders  of  the  world  around  us,  and  give  charm- 
ing little  lectures  on  natural  theology." 

Charles  Kingsley 's  home  life  was  an  ideal  one.  He 
played  cards  and  other  games  with  his  children, 
partly  as  a  mental  rest,  i^artly  to  keep  in  touch  with 
them,  and  he  was  always  their  favorite  companion, 
and,  as  his  sou  described  him,  "  Our  best  and  truest 
friend."  He  made  the  woods  and  fields  their  study 
and  inspired  them  with  a  love  of  nature.  They 
handled  toads,  frogs,  snakes,  and  beetles,  everything 
except  spiders,  without  fear  or  disgust. 

An  atmosphere  of  joyousness  pervaded  the  house. 
"  I  wonder  if  there  is  so  much  laughing  in  any  other 
house  in  England,"  he  once  said.  Sunday  in  partic- 
ular was  the  brightest  day  in  the  week.  He  never 
scolded  or  treated  his  children  harshl3^  Punishment 
was  scarcely  known.  "Lying,"  he  said,  "is  half  the 
time  caused  by  the  fear  of  punishment."  He  never 
chided  a  child  hastily,  so  as  to  tempt  him  in  his  con- 
fusion to  prevaricate,  or  harbored  mean  suspicions 
about  any  one.  He  taught  his  children  to  dread 
wrong-doing,  not  its  penalty.  He  laid  down  a  few 
broad  and  distinct  rules  of  conduct,  and  tried  to 
create  in  his  children  a  sense  of  personal  freedom  and 
perfect  confidence  in  their  parents.  His  knowledge  of 
physiology  taught  him  to  ascribe  weariness  at  lessons, 
and  sudden  fits  of  temper  or  obstinacy,  to  physical 
causes  or  to  temporary  depression,  and  not  to  treat 
them  as  moral  delinquencies. 

In  contrast  with  this  beautiful  domestic  picture, 
how  sadly  repressed  and  artificial  was  the  home  life 
and  early  training  of  John  Stuart  Mill,  a  sensitive, 


What  Shall  Oiir  Boys  Do  for  a  Living?        35 

poetic  nature,  drilled  like  an  automaton  by  his  stern 
father,  and  never  enjoying  any  fun  or  frolic.  He  re- 
marked rather  plaintively  in  after-life :  "  I  never  was 
a  boy,  never  played  at  cricket.  It  is  better  to  let  na- 
ture have  her  own  way." 

Lord  Brougham  was  a  grave,  sad  little  boy,  whose 
chief  pleasure  at  i)lay  was  to  act  scenes  in  law-courts 
and  be  an  imaginar}^  Lord  Chancellor,  but  he  made 
up  for  it  later  b}'  his  college  pranks. 

Wendell  Phillips'  parents  were  rich  and  influential, 
yet  his  father  made  this  rule  for  his  children :  "  Ask 
no  man  to  do  for  you  anything  that  you  are  not  able 
and  willing  to  do  yourself."  His  son  claimed  in  later 
life  that  there  was  hardly  any  kind  of  ordinary  trade 
or  manual  labor  used  in  New  England  at  which  he 
had  not  done  a  day's  work. 

Roandell  Palmer,  the  great  jurist,  was  a  fair  sample 
of  English  training.  He  and  his  brother  began  Latin 
under  their  father  at  five,  and  Greek  at  six.  At  nine 
they  had  made  a  good  start  in  Virgil  and  Horace,  in 
prose  and  verse  ti'anslation,  and  had  begun  the  Greek 
Testament.  They  also  read  Shakespeare,  Milton, 
and  other  English  classics.  They  had  the  run  of  a 
good  library,  and  their  faculty  of  observation  was 
strengthened  by  out-door  study  of  birds  and  animals. 
The  plates  of  Harris's  "British  Lejudoptera"  lured 
them  on  to  the  stud}^  of  entomology.  As  a  result  of 
this  drill  and  cultivation,  the}"  made  rapid  progress  at 
school  and  college. 

John  Buskin's  child-life  was  a  period  of  discipline 
and  torment.  His  parents  regarded  him  as  a  sacred 
trust.  Their  intense  affection  was  never  outwardly 
expressed,  and  both  treated  him  like  an  automaton. 


y()       What  S/icdl  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livhuj  ? 

He  had  no  playthings.  If  he  cried,  disobeyed  or  fell, 
he  was  punished.  His  food  was  the  simplest.  To 
curb  his  "  animal  appetite"  a  single  grajje  or  currant 
was  all  that  was  allowed  him."  For  a  wonder  books 
were  not  denied  him.  Scott,  Homer  and  Byron  were 
read  to  him  on  week-days,  and  on  Sundays  the  Bible, 
"Pilgrim's  Progress"  and  "Robinson  Crusoe"  (!), 
and  he  was  rigidly  examined  in  Bible  lore.  He 
found  his  sole  enjoyment  in  studying  the  carpet 
pattern,  a  bunch  of  keys,  and  the  filling  of  the  water- 
carts  across  the  way.  He  early  composed  in  prose 
and  verse,  and  at  seven  wrote  a  story  modelled  after 
"  Harry  and  Lucy . " 

Thus  restricted  and  suppressed  by  a  narrow  Evan- 
gelicalism, the  imaginative  soul  and  great  heart  of 
Euskin  grew  like  a  flower  in  a  cave.  What  saved 
him  from  rebellion  or  degeneration  was  the  yearly 
driving-tours  his  father  made  through  England, 
Scotland  and  Wales,  where  he  revelled  in  the  beauty 
of  the  scenery,  and  in  visits  to  many  fine  mansions 
and  old  castles.  He  never  went  to  school,  but  had 
private  tutors  to  prepare  him  for  Oxford,  where  he 
took  high  honors.  Could  anything  be  more  ill-ad- 
vised than  such  training,  whose  influence  may  be 
readily  traced  both  in  Euskin' s  life  and  writings? 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  PENALTY   OF  PROSPERITY. 

How  Rich  Men's  Sons  are  Spoiled — How  to  Counteract  Lux- 
ury—Practical Teaching  Essential  for  Every  One— A  Suggestive 
Advertisement. 

William  C.  Ralston,  the  California  millionaire, 
recognizing  that  he  had  neither  time  nor  capacity  for 
training  his  sons,  gave  them  in  charge  of  a  Unitarian 
clergyman,  with  the  injunction  that  they  should  have 
wholesome  discipline,  should  be  taught  the  value  of 
money,  and  to  respect  labor.  He  wanted  to  educate 
his  boys  on  business  principles  by  a  well-paid  and 
responsible  agent,  but  he  could  not  understand  the 
educational  value  of  a  quiet,  unostentatious  home, 
where  love  dwells  and  is  the  great  motive  power. 
How  many  rich  men  have  found  to  their  sorrow  that 
their  sons  and  daughters  must  be  sent  away  from 
home  to  be  properly  trained? 

Prosperity,  as  all  history  shows,  ever  tends  to  en- 
ervate. A  boy  or  girl  is  "  spoiled,"  like  fniit  kept  in 
too  warm  a  room.  To  make  mental  and  moral  muscle, 
one  must  endure  rigor  and  privation.  Truly  fortu- 
nate are  the  children  who  are  not  choked  by  the  silver 
spoon  in  their  mouths,  or  smothered  in  the  luxury 
which  surrounds  them.  It  is  a  curious  indication  of 
the  effect  of  luxury  on  children,  that  a  modern  board- 


88       irhat  ^hall  Our  Boijs  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

ing-schoolrnastes  urges  rich  men  to  send  him  their 
sons  at  eight  years  of  age. 

An  expert  teacher  once  asked  another  how  many 
promising  sons  of  wealthy  men  he  knew.  He  an- 
swered: "Not  one."  We  must  pay  the  price  of  pros- 
perity. Self-made  men  boast  of  overcoming  difficul- 
ties, but  a  youth  born  to  the  purple,  who  succeeds  in 
spite  of  his  surroundings,  deserves  ten  times  more 
credit  than  one  who  has  to  work  from  necessity. 

Next  to  moral  and  religious  training,  a  broad,  liberal 
culture  is  the  best  antidote  for  the  temptations  and 
weaknesses  fostered  by  luxury.  Contact  with  the 
world,  which  compels  a  youth  to  stand  on  his  own 
feet  and  trust  in  himself,  is  also  a  splendid  discipline 
{vide  Kipling's  "Captains  Courageous").  I  have 
asked  mam-  3'oung  men  born  to  luxury  how  they  es- 
caped the  sirens'  spell,  and  they  all  answered  that,  like 
Orpheus,  they  rose  above  temptation  and  did  not  mere- 
ly ti'y  to  shun  it. 

W.  T.  Harris,  United  States  Commissioner  of  Edu- 
cation, in  advocating  kindergartens  in  the  public 
schools,  says :  "  The  children  of  the  newly  rich  are 
generally  intrusted  to  governesses  or  servants.  They 
are  precocious  and  not  easily  managed ;  hence,  at  an 
early  age,  they  become  wilful  and  self-indulgent.  The 
waste  of  this  most  precious  element  in  our  population 
is  something  frightful.  When  old  enough  to  enter  the 
primary  school,  they  are  beyond  cure.  They  will 
not  submit  themselves  to  the  school  rules,  and  hence 
they  are  eliminated  from  well-regulated  schools.  In 
early  manhood,  the  boys  of  this  class  destroy  them- 
selves by  fast  living." 

The  kindergarten  furnishes  activity  for  these  pre- 


iVhat  Shall  (hir  Brnj!^  Dn  for  a  FAciiKj  ?        39 

cocious  minds,  and  trains  tlicm  gently  into  rational 
habits.  It  is  not  so  essential  to  the  middle  class  of 
people,  who  associate  a  great  deal  with  their  chil- 
dren and  throw  about  them  a  good  home  influence. 

The  children  of  luxury  and  wealth  are  not  con- 
cerned about  making  a  living ;  yet  it  would  be  better 
if  they  were  taught  something  that  would  make  them 
feel  independent.  Many  rich  men's  sons  and  daugh- 
ters have  suffered  heart-rending  humiliation  and 
trials,  because  they  never  learned  anything  practical. 
No  spectacle  is  more  pitiable  than  i)eople  "  in  reduced 
circumstances"  who  are  incapable  of  self-support. 
The  following  advertisement  from  a  Montreal  paper 
tells  the  story  of  thousands  of  wasted  lives : 

"Wanted — By  an  Englishman,  a  light  situation,  night-work 
preferred;  delicate  health;  honest,  reliable,  total  abstainer;  no 
education,  speaks  French  ;  he  is  the  sou  of  the  private  secretary 
of  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England,  and  sadly  in  want  of  work  ; 
married.     Apply . 

What  a  pathetic  appeal,  and  the  gist  of  it  all  is  in 
the  "No  education"!  Thousands  of  other  "gentle- 
men's sons"  have  been  reduced  to  like  straits  for  lack 
of  a  little  practical  training,  and  the  fault  is  usually 
their  own. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

DON'T  OVERWORK  THE  CHILDREN. 

Spencer  and  Huxley  on  Precocious  Children — Dangers  from 
Overstudy— Wholesome  Play — Education  Not  a  Porous  Plaster — 
Nature's  Methods. 

Herbert  Spencer  says  the  brains  of  precocious 
children  cease  to  develop  after  a  certain  age,  like  a 
plant  that  fails  to  flower ;  and  Professor  Huxley  adds : 
"  Those  unhappy  children  who  are  forced  to  rise  too 
early  in  their  classes  are  conceited  all  the  forenoon  of 
their  lives  and  stupid  all  the  afternoon.  The  keen- 
ness and  vitalitj^  which  should  have  been  stored  up 
for  the  sharp  struggle  of  practical  existence  have  been 
washed  out  of  them  by  precocious  mental  debauch- 
ery, by  book-gluttony  and  lesson-bibbing.  Their 
faculties  are  worn  out  by  the  strain  put  upon  their 
callow  brains,  and  they  are  demoralized  by  worthless 
childish  triumphs  before  the  real  tasks  of  life  begin." 
How  many  youthful  lives  have  been  sacrificed,  or 
their  prospects  ruined,  by  the  insatiable  desire  of 
parents  and  teachers  to  crowd  childi'en  beyond  their 
strength.  I  wish  that  some  one,  in  the  interest  of 
common  sense  and  fair  play,  would  ofl'er  prizes  to 
backward  children,  instead  of  encouraging  the  bright 
ones,  and  make  better  known  the  names  of  the 
notable  men  and  women  who  were  stupid  in  their 
childhood. 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  y        41 

Remember  Carlyle's  words :  "  The  richer  a  nature, 
the  harder  and  slower  its  development.  Two  boys 
were  once  members  of  a  class  in  the  Edinburgh 
Grammar  School:  John,  ever  trim,  precise,  and  a 
dux;  Walter,  ever  slovenly,  confused,  and  a  dolt.  lu 
due  time  John  became  Baillie  John,  of  Hunter  Square, 
and  Walter  became  Sir  Walter  Scott,  of  the  universe. 
The  quickest  and  completest  of  all  vegetables  is  the 
cabbage." 

Heine  remarked  of  his  school  education  that  he 
had  lived  long  enough  to  thank  God  he  had  forgotten 
it.  What  remained  is  something  far  better  than 
mere  knowledge  of  books  or  things. 

Jowett  was  not  so  far  wrong  when  he  called  educa- 
tion "the  grave  of  the  mind."  Happily,  as  The  Na- 
tion remarks,  "  the  average  boy  and  girl  is  tough,  and 
may  defy  the  experts."  Bagehot  chuckled  over  the 
way  in  which  "  that  apple-eating  animal  which  we  call 
a  boy"  would  foil  his  educators,  and  bring  awaj'  from 
long  years  of  wrestling  with  the  classics  little  more 
than  a  firm  conviction  that  there  were  such  languages 
as  Latin  and  Greek.  To  apples  we  may  now  add 
football  and  baseball  and  bicycles.  The  specialists 
may  crowd  more  and  more  of  their  subjects  into  the 
curriculum  of  schools;  the  average  boy  simi)ly  pro- 
duces new  varieties  of  humor  in  the  way  of  examina- 
tion-papers, and  goes  on  his  athletic  waj-  rejoicing. 
It  is  upon  the  excejjtionally  delicate  and  sensitive  and 
conscientious  that  high-pressure  schools  and  bewil- 
dering multiplicity  of  studies  work  their  real  evil. 
How  much  of  dulled  interest,  of  nervous  collapse,  of 
utter  repulsion  at  the  sight  of  books,  of  despairing 
effort  to  keep  up  the  pace,  of  vague  sense  of  wrong 


42        IVhdi  Slidll  Our  IjO]/s  Do  for  a  TAvinfj  ? 

and  injustice  liave  they  been  resj)onsiblo  for !  Those 
whom  no  education  can  harm,  as  none  can  benefit, 
emerge  from  the  process  uninjured,  but  the  rush  and 
crowding  and  strain  are  cruel  to  the  finer  natures." 

Let  every  boy  enjoy  himself  as  much  as  possible 
and  play  hard  in  a  wholesome  way.  Don't  burden 
his  mind  with  too  much  care ;  hard  knocks  and  trials 
will  come  later  on.  The  man  who  has  had  no  fun  in 
his  youth  is  apt  to  be  a  prig.  You  can  guide  and 
direct  the  child's  growth,  but  you  must  not  try  to 
"  boost"  him.  When  the  mind  is  hungry,  feed  it,  but 
don't  create  mental  dyspepsia  by  stuffing  the  boy  or 
girl  like  the  Strasburg  geese,  to  make  intellectual 
•pdte  defoie  gras. 

If  a  boj^  dislikes  some  special  study,  and  you  are 
convinced  that  it  is  not  from  mere  whim,  don't  force 
his  inclination,  but  let  him  skip  it;  and  later  on,  when 
he  finds  that  he  is  deficient  in  that  direction,  he  will 
take  it  up  voluntarily  and  soon  catch  up  with  his  fel- 
lows. When  will  people  learn  that  education  is  not 
a  porous  plaster  to  be  clapped  on  a  pupil's  back  or 
head,  but  the  development  of  original  attributes  and 
creative  force  from  within? 

Make  study  so  attractive  in  the  beginning  that  it 
will  seem  like  play,  and  not  repel.  The  old  method 
of  teaching  the  classics  caused  many  boys  to  detest 
Virgil  and  Homer  all  their  lives.  Outside  of  school 
one  may  take  up  music  or  a  modern  language,  or 
follow  some  systematic  course  of  reading ;  but  I  would 
not  burden  a  child's  mind  with  too  much  study. 
First  of  all  see  that  he  has  health  and  vigor,  and 
when  he  gains  a  taste  for  knowledge  he  will  study 
with  energy  and  ardor. 


Whaf  Shnll  Our  lloip  Do  /,»■  a  Liviixj  ?        43 

Encourage  individuality.  Each  child  should  have 
his  own  room  and  a  chance  to  cultivate  personal  lik- 
ings and  tastes.  Let  the  boy  have  a  snuggery  to 
which  he  can  bring  his  friends;  and  where  he  can 
work  with  a  jig-saw,  printing-press,  magic  lantern,  or 
miniature  theatre.  If  a  boy  has  a  taste  for  tinkering, 
supply  him  with  tools  and  a  place  to  work  in.  Man- 
ual dexterity  is  always  valuable,  and  training  the  hand 
is  the  best  of  all  training.  A  camera  will  teach  a  boy 
to  use  his  eyes  and  cultivate  his  taste,  while  it  will 
keep  him  out  of  mischief.  Every  boy  would  be  better 
for  such  advantages. 

The  activity  and  waywardness  of  youth  will,  if 
properly  directed,  change  into  energy  and  force. 
The  steam  which  tilts  the  tea-kettle  lid  may  drive  the 
locomotive  or  lift  the  trip-hammer.  Do  not  be  dis- 
appointed or  grieved  if  a  boy  is  boisterous  or  over- 
energetic.  Anything  is  better  than  being  a  "  molly 
coddle."  A  natural  boy  should  love  physical  exer- 
cise and  like  to  play  hard,  eat  abundantly,  sleep 
soundly,  enjoy  lively  books,  and,  in  short,  have  a  zest 
for  everything  that  is  wholesome. 

As  the  child  gains  in  mental  growth,  teach  him 
self-reliance.  Buy  him  an  encyclopedia,  and  make 
him  look  up  things  for  himself.  I  once  knew  a  boy 
who  had  been  read  to  so  much  in  early  life  that  it 
seemed  impossible  to  get  him  to  study  for  himself. 
Suddenly  the  desire  was  implanted  by  a  gift  of  the 
"Life  of  Robert  Fulton,"  in  which  he  became  deeply 
interested.  Then  his  father  gave  him  an  encyclo- 
pedia; and  now  he  spends  hours  in  studying  all 
sorts  of  topics.  I  have  held  in  my  hand  the  Latin 
grammar  which  Theodore  Parker  bought  with   the 


44       IVhat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

earnings  from  picking  berries,  and  I  can  fancy 
his  pleasure  was  greater  in  that  achievement  than  in 
the  after  possession  of  a  library  of  twelve  thousand 
volumes. 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

PUBLIC   OR  PRIVATE   SCHOOLS. 

Home  Training  Deficient — Boarding -Schools,  Advantages  and 
Drawbacks — Military  Drill  Helpful — Class  Spirit — Benefits  of 
Public  Schools — Need  of  Manual  Training. 

Baereet  Martineau  wrote:  "No  children,  in  any 
rank  of  life,  can  acquire  so  much  book-knowledge  at 
home  as  at  a  good  school,  or  have  their  intellectual 
faculties  so  well  trained  and  roused.  I  have  never 
seen  an  instance  of  such  high  attainment  in  lan- 
guages, mathematics,  history  or  philosophy  in  young 
people  taught  at  home,  even  by  the  best  masters,  as 
in  those  who  have  been  in  a  good  school." 

Yet  the  very  words  "  sent  away  to  school"  raise  a 
doubt  in  the  mind.  Boarding-schools  are  a  poor  sub- 
stitute for  a  good  home,  but  their  existence  proves 
their  necessitj^,  and,  while  man^^  parents  send  their 
children  to  such  places  to  get  rid  of  them,  they  serve 
a  good  purpose  for  children  who  have  no  home  ad- 
vantages or  who  live  far  from  good  day-schools. 

Mr.  Siglar  in  his  school  circular  presents  very 
adroitly  and  persuasively,  the  arguments  in  favor  of 
sending  a  boy  early  to  boarding-school.  "  There  isn't 
a  home  in  the  world  so  good,  or  parents  so  faithful 
and  wise,  that  a  healthy  boy  had  better  stay  in  it,  or 
with  them,  at  eight.  And  the  puny  boy  is  probably 
puny   because  he  is  at  home.     It  lacks  facilities; 


46       What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livuig  ? 

probably  everything  else  but  love;  and  the  love  is 
never  wise.  .  .  .  There  is  no  other  way  for  a  boy  to 
be  happy  and  comfortable  perpetually,  but  to  live 
with  other  boys  of  his  age,  the  object  of  skilful 
and  delicate  care  and  judicious  letting-alone.  They 
afford  one  another  variety.  Mirror-like,  they  reflect 
one  another.  They  teach  one  another.  They  weigh 
themselves,  a  most  useful  facility.  There  is  a  public 
opinion  among  them,  a  good  one.  They  restrain  one 
another ;  cure  one  another  of  faults  that  at  home  were 
incurable.  Boys  among  boys  are  ashamed  to  be  un- 
manly." 

Horace  D.  Taft  denies  that  boarding-schools  are  de- 
signed solely  for  backward  or  wayward  children,  and 
says  they  are  becoming  a  necessity,  especiallj'  with 
the  sons  of  the  well-to-do  residents  of  large  cities,  to 
counteract  certain  growing  tendencies  of  modem  life. 
Among  their  advantages  are  the  simple  fare;  the  reg- 
ular hours  for  sleep,  study,  and  exercise;  a  sense  of 
responsibility  for  acts  and  commissions ;  the  habit  of 
prompt  obedience ;  freedom  from  social  and  petty  dis- 
tractions; and  protection  from  undesirable  com- 
panionship. Then  there  is  the  discipline  of  athletics, 
the  moral  benefit  of  contact  with  older  and  superior 
boys,  and  the  influence  of  school  loyalty  or  patriot- 
ism. A  serious  drawback  in  such  schools  is  the  class 
spirit  fostered  by  the  absence  of  boys  of  moderate 
means,  who  go  to  the  public  school.  He  thinks  this 
un-American  and  suggests  that  such  schools  should 
provide  free  scholarships  for  boys  of  character  and 
talent  to  leaven  the  mass. 

Boarding-schools  of  a  denominational  type  are 
open  to  objection  from  their  narrowing  influence  and 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Liviufj  ?       47 

undue  restraint,  which  makes  hypocrites  of  some  boys 
and  rebels  of  others.  I  shoukl  send  high-spirited  or 
turbulent  boys  to  schools  where  the  pupils  are  regu- 
larly drilled  by  a  competent  instructor.  Military 
drill  makes  a  boy  stand  straight  and  obey  ijromptly. 
He  takes  pride  in  his  uniform,  learns  to  respect  his 
superiors,  and  to  be  alert  and  (piick  to  respond.  No 
greater  contrast  could  be  found  than  that  betw^een  the 
fine  bearing  of  the  jjupils  under  military  rule,  and  the 
slouchy,  flabby  boys  in  ordinary  schools.  It  is  in- 
spiring to  see  a  thousand  public-school  boys  at  their 
morning  exercises  salute  the  Stars  and  Stripes  and 
vow  allegiance  to  their  country'. 

At  the  Hampton,  Va.,  Normal  School,  General 
Armstrong  found  that  the  military  discipline  inspired 
self-respect  and  esprit  de  corps  among  the  students. 
The  graduates  of  West  Point  and  Annapolis  are 
always  gentlemen. 

Kegarding  public  schools,  Mr.  Kobert  Waters  has 
favored  me  with  the  following  interesting  communi- 
cation: "I  was  for  nearly  twenty  years  a  teacher  in 
private  schools  and  used  to  look  upon  the  i>ublic 
schools  as  a  sort  of  treadmill,  where  boys  and  girls 
were  crammed  with  facts  and  made  to  move  like 
machines.  After  twelve  years  in  the  public-school 
service  I  regard  them  as  our  greatest  American 
institution. 

"The  public  school  is  really  democratic.  Promo- 
tions are  made  through  merit.  The  banker's  sou 
and  the  laborer's  boy  sit  side  by  side,  and  measure 
their  abilities.  No  questions  are  asked  concerning  the 
status  of  the  parents  or  of  the  scholars,  and  no  regard 
is  paid  to  anything  except  their  personal  (lualities. 


48       What  Shall  Oar  Boys  Do  for  a  Livinrj  ? 

"  The  joint  education  of  tlie  boys  and  girls  is  bene- 
ficial, mentally  and  morally — for  it  is  that  of  the 
family.  The  boys  look  upon  the  girls  as  their  sisters, 
and  the  girls  look  upon  the  boys  as  their  brothers.  I 
never  knew  a  single  instance  of  direct  immorality.* 

"  I  used  to  think  that  women  were  not  equal  to  men 
as  teachers,  but  I  was  in  error.  In  the  higher  mathe- 
matics and  in  the  classics  men  may  be  superior ;  but 
for  children  they  are  not.  Women  have  exceptional 
tact,  skill  and  patience.  Where  men  govern  by  force, 
women  succeed  by  gentleness.  I  would  rather  a  hun- 
dred times  have  a  corps  of  women  teachers  than  one 
of  men. 

"  The  schools  I  taught  in  Germany  were  better  than 
those  I  knew  at  first  in  the  United  States ;  but  Ameri- 
cans are  prompt  to  appreciate  a  good  thing  when  they 
see  it,  and  I  have  seen  with  admiration  how  quickly 
our  public-school  teachers  put  into  practice  the  best 
German  methods.  The  only  drawback  in  our  public- 
school  system  is  political  influence  in  appointments. 
Change  that,  and  all  will  be  well. 

"  A  public-school  boy  is  likely  to  be  a  better  citizen 
and  a  better  man  than  one  educated  at  a  private 
school,  but  the  latter  is  likely  to  be  better  trained  in 

*  At  the  Purity  Congress  at  Baltimore,  B.  O.  Flower,  editor  of 
The  Arena,  condemned  the  guilty  silence  called  modesty,  which 
withheld  the  proper  knowledge  from  children,  instead  of  warn- 
ing them  of  the  pitfalls  and  dangers  ahead  ;  and  Dr.  Mary  Wood 
Allen,  National  Purity  Superintendent,  W.  C.  T.  U.,  in  advocat- 
ing co-education  said  :  "  The  girl  in  convents  or  girls'  schools 
is  apt  to  invest  young  men  with  ideal  virtues,  but  the  glamour 
vanishes  when  she  comes  to  compete  with  them  in  practical  school 
life.  This  would  be  more  completely  the  case  were  she  per- 
mitted to  associate  with  them  on  terms  of  frank  comradeship.  " 


WJiat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?       49 

teclinical  branches.  The  proper  plan,  I  think,  is  for 
the  boy  in  ordinary  circumstances  to  go  to  a  com- 
mercial or  trade  school  after  finishing  the  public 
school."* 

Mr.  Boyer,  one  of  the  first  New  York  principals  to 
introduce  military  drill,  says :  "  The  common  schools 
are  the  only  agency  for  transforming  our  cosmopolitan 
population  into  American  citizens.  Our  churches 
and  other  institutions  tend  to  set  people  apart,  but 
the  public  school  is  like  a  great  hopper,  in  which  Jew 
and  Gentile,  Celt  and  Saxon,  Protestant  and  Catholic 
Slav  and  Teuton,  are  Americanized,  and  'Old  Glory' 
is  the  only  flag  that  all  alike  will  salute." 

Of  the  public-school  pupils,  Prof.  W.  T.  Harris 
says :  "  One  per  cent  enter  college,  three  per  cent  the 
high  school  and  academies,  and  ninety-six  per  cent 
never  get  beyond  the  elementary  grade."  It  is  im- 
portant, therefore,  that  the  course  of  studies  should 
be  adjusted  to  the  needs  of  the  latter.  Only  eight  per 
cent  of  the  population  enter  business  or  the  profes- 
sions, while  ninety-two  per  cent  labor  with  their  hands. 
As  the  former  have  schools  of  law,  medicine,  dentistry, 
engineering,  architecture,  etc.,  so  the  hand-workers 
should  have  facilities  for  manual  training  provided 
for  them. 

Professor   Agassiz  wished   to  see  a  technological 

*  The  Springfield  Republican  says:  " There  is  a  great  deal  of 
ignorant  criticism  of  what  are  termed  the  machine  methods  of 
large  public  schools,  overlooking  the  fact  that  the  habit  of  act- 
ing in  concert  and  of  quick  obedience  to  the  common  rule  is  one 
of  the  great  disciplinary  objects  of  schooling  in  masses,  not  to 
be  attained  in  private  schools,  where  each  pupil  has  individual 
tending,  like  flowers  in  pots." 

4 


50       What  SImU  Oar  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

museum  in  every  primary  school,  as  is  common  in 
Switzerland.  Parents  naturally  want  their  children 
to  gain  all  the  instruction  thoy  can.  If  manual  train- 
ing were  added  to  the  course,  they  would  make  sacri- 
fices to  keep  their  children  longer  at  school.  Since 
the  introduction  of  industrial  schools  in  England 
crimes  above  the  grade  of  felony  have  been  reduced 
one-third;  this  reduction  is  greatest  where  such 
schools  are  most  numerous  and  longest  established. 


CHAPTER  X. 

WHAT  TO   READ. 

Books  that  Shape  Men's  Lives— Libraries  and  Children — How 
to  Create  a  Taste  for  Reading — James  Russell  Lowell's  Views 
— A  Boy's  Library — E.  E.  Hale  and  O.  W.  Holmes  on  Study — 
"What  Books  to  Choose — Learn  to  Speak  and  Write — Letter- 
Writing  Good  Practice — Join  a  Debating-Club. 

When  a  child  I  used  to  turn  over  volumes  of  the 
English  poets  and  read  what  struck  my  fancy.  I 
thus  learned  to  know  a  good  many  authors  by  tast- 
ing them.  In  college  libraries,  where  students  can 
take  the  books  down  and  handle  them,  they  learn  a 
great  deal  more  about  authors  than  they  could  by 
reading  a  few  volumes.  To  have  dipj^ed  into  Homer, 
Plato,  Dante,  Darwin,  or  other  great  writers  creates 
an  interest  which  may  lead  to  careful  reading  later 
on.  This  is  one  of  the  permanent  delights  of  haunt- 
ing second-hand  book-stalls. 

The  value  of  this  habit  of  familiarity  is  recog- 
nized by  the  best  librarians,  and  the  books  in  most 
demand  are  made  accessible  to  readers,  who  make 
their  own  selections  from  them. 

In  "  Middlemarch"  the  boy  Lydgate,  standing  on  a 
ladder  to  get  at  the  top  shelf  in  a  library,  opened  by 
chance  a  book  on  anatomy.  His  attention  was  aroused 
by  a  picture  of  the  valves  of  the  heart ;  from  that  mo- 
ment his  sole  purpose  was  to  study  medicine. 


52       WJmt  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livimj  ? 

Many  other  lives  have  been  shaped  by  equally 
trifling  circumstances. 

When  my  father  was  a  student  at  Dartmouth  he 
bought  a  copy  of  Todd's  "Student's  Manual,"  for 
thirty-seven  cents,  which  impressed  him  very  much. 
Several  of  his  chums  also  read  it  with  interest.  After- 
ward, when  a  teacher,  he  loaned  the  book  to  many  of 
his  pupils,  whose  names  are  set  down  in  the  back  of 
the  book,  to  the  number  of  some  fifty.  \\Tio  can  esti- 
mate the  money  value  of  this  little  book? 

Jean  Paul  Eichter  shows  in  "  Levana"  how  easily 
children  are  impressed  with  lasting  ideas  and  associ- 
ations. It  is  therefore  important  to  give  them  the 
best  books  to  read. 

In  an  addi'ess  to  workingmen,  James  Russell 
Lowell  said :  "  So  select  your  reading  that  it  shall  be 
to  you  a  ladder  of  ascent  to  a  higher  intellectual 
plane.  Once  a  man  knows  how  to  read,  he  may  en- 
joy the  intellectual  companionship  of  the  choicest 
spirits  and  the  richest  and  wisest  minds  of  all  time. 
If  you  were  offered  a  letter  of  introduction  which 
would  persuade  Shakspeare  and  Milton  to  give  you 
their  best  time  and  attention,  you  would  say  it  was 
impossible.  Yet  that  is  precisely  what  the  mere 
ability  to  read  gives  a  man." 

Political  economy  is  called  the  dismal  science,  but 
it  can  be  made  of  interest  to  every  one.  AMien  peo- 
ple are  talking  about  the  hard  times,  when  tramps 
multiply  at  the  front  door,  when  the  farmer's  wife 
cannot  get  the  new  dress  she  needs  because  com  and 
wheat  bring  such  low  prices,  or  when  every  one  is 
talking  about  the  government  bond  issue,  then  is  the 
time  to  set  the  young  people  to  reading  such  books  as 


What  Shall  Oar  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?        53 

R.  R.  Bowker's  "Economics  for  the  People,"  or 
Professor  Ely's  "Political  Economy." 

Charles  Bradlaugh,  the  English  radical,  said:  "I 
ascribe  to  Emerson's  essaj^  on  '  Self-reliance'  my 
first  step  in  the  career  I  have  adopted.  When  too 
poor  to  buy  a  book,  I  copied  parts  of  it,  and  now 
stand  an  example  at  least  of  a  self-reliant  man."  * 

Valuable  hints  in  regard  to  selecting  books  for  the 
young  are  given  by  public  librarians.  Dr.  Poole 
says  children  must  acquire  a  love  of  books  during 
their  formative  period,  from  ten  to  fourteen,  and  they 
should  no  more  be  shut  out  from  a  library  than  from 
a  church.  They  should  be  encouraged  to  take  two 
books  at  a  time,  so  as  to  change  off  from  a  story  to  a 
biography  or  book  of  travel  or  popular  science.  The 
wise  librarian  tempts  children  with  picture-books,  and 
leads  them  up  to  Mother  Goose's  fables,  fairy  lore, 
myths,  and  simple  poems.  Eschew  books  written 
down  to  the  young  and  of  too  pronounced  a  moral, 
and  especially  stupid  books  of  all  sorts.  One  class 
of  minds  need  wholesome,  stirring,  absorbing  stories 
of  action;  for  another  class  inspiring  books  are  re- 

*  A  symposium  in  The  British  Weekly  on  "  Books  which  Have 
Influenced  Me"  illustrates  the  benefits  of  surrounding  boys  with 
the  classics  of  their  own  tongue  and  of  the  world.  The  editor 
remarked:  "  Scott  receives  most  gratitude  ;  the  Bible  is  promi- 
nent ;  Montaigne,  Shakespeare  and  Coleridge,  Carlyle,  Tenny- 
son, Emerson,  Kingsley,  are  well  mentioned.  Generally  the 
current  classics  and  the  acknowledged  contemporaries  hold  the 
field.  One  omission,  Plutarch,  is  singular.  Can  it  be  that  that 
old  reservoir  of  heroic  impulse  and  brave  example  is  past  being 
a  formative  book?  Ilamerton  suggested  that  he  could  not  mark 
the  influence  of  books  upon  himself  very  well ;  and  that  is  some- 
what the  case  with  everybody.  " 


54        Wliaf  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livhuj  ? 

quired,  for  knowledge  alone  cannot  make  character, 
and  wliat  children  love  and  desire  is  far  more  vital 
than  what  they  learn. 

The  best  librarians  regard  the  young  as  their  most 
important  patrons,  treat  them  the  same  as  their  elders, 
and  strive  to  make  them  feel  at  home.  In  the  Boston 
Library  one  large  room  has  thousands  of  volumes 
wholly  for  the  use  of  the  young.  The  long  hours 
which  I  spent  in  the  Mercantile  Librarj^  were  the 
happiest  of  my  youth.  From  the  bound  volumes  of 
the  London  Illustrated,  I  got  my  first  impressions  of 
contemporary  history,  while  Leech's  and  Tenniel's 
cartoons  in  Punch  gave  the  truest  insight  into  Eng- 
lish politics.  The  Shakespeare  and  Hogarth  engrav- 
ings were  a  revelation  to  my  imagination,  while  I  rev- 
elled in  the  feast  of  fiction,  travels,  biography,  and 
history  on  the  well-filled  shelves.  The  librarian 
grumbled  that  any  one  should  want  three  books  in 
one  day,  but  for  the  voracious  reader,  on  a  rainy  Satur- 
day, this  was  nothing.  I  count  it  a  privilege  also  to 
have  had  the  opportunity  to  turn  over  the  great  foreign 
and  domestic  reviews,  which  gave  me  a  broad  and  cos- 
mopolitan imj)ression  of  the  world's  best  literature. 

Some  persons  object  to  stories  like  "  Jack  the  Giant 
Killer,"  which  they  fancy  inculcate  ideas  of  cruelty. 
But  children  are  naturally  "unmoral"  and  are  rarely 
influenced  in  that  way. 

It  is  desirable  to  implant  in  every  child  a  taste  for 
reading;  then  turn  him  loose  to  browse  in  a  library, 
where  he  will  make  lifelong  and  unchanging  friends, 
and  spend  happj'  hours,  to  be  later  recalled  with 
the  same  delight  with  which  Thackeray  tells  in  his 
"  Round-about  Papers  "  of  his  boyish  absorption  in 


What  SIkiU  Old-  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?        55 

Scott,  Cooper  and  Dumas.  Reading  should  not  be 
made  a  task,  neither  shoukl  books  be  treated  like 
sweetmeats  to  gorge  on  till  they  cloy  the  appetite, 
but  rather  like  wholesome  fruit  to  be  eaten  with  relish 
as  a  dessert  after  the  day's  work  is  over. 

"  We  get  no  good  of  being  ungenerous,  even  to  a  book 
And  calculating  profits  ;   so  much  help  by  so  much  reading. 
It  is  rather  when  we  plunge  soul-forward,  headlong,  into  a 

book  profound. 
Impassioned  by  its  beauty  and  pure  salt  of  truth  ; 
'Tis  then  we  get  the  right  good  from  a  book.  " 

As  I  have  said  before,  the  youngest  child  can  ap- 
preciate the  finest  and  most  imaginative  literature — 
the  narrative  parts  of  the  Bible ;  the  classic  myths ; 
"Arabian  Nights'  Entertainment";  Lamb's  "Stories 
from  Shakespeare,"  and  all  that  is  best  in  Scott, 
Cooper,  Dickens,  Stevenson,  and  Dumas. 

There  are  books  of  information  and  books  of  in- 
spiration. We  get  knowledge  from  one  and  stimulus 
from  the  other.  Any  one  can  study  history,  science, 
mathematics,  geography,  and  art;  but  he  must  not 
neglect  the  masters  of  thought  who  speak  to  the  heart 
and  the  soul.  The  Bible  stands  first  of  these;  next 
come  Shakespeare  and  the  poets,  and  lastly  the  seers 
and  prophets,  Emerson,  Carlyle,  Buskin;  George 
Eliot,  Victor  Hugo,  and  Tolstoi  in  fiction;  Marti- 
neau,  Newman,  Channing,  Frederick  Robertson,  and 
Phillips  Brooks  in  ethics. 

The  best  gift  to  a  bright  boy  would  be  a  little 
library  of  such  books  as  Plutarch's  "Lives,"  Ma- 
caalay's  "Essays,"  Franklin's  "Autobiography," 
Smiles'  "Self-Help"  and  his  other  books,  "Little 
Masterpieces,"  issued  by  the  Doubleday  &  McClure 


56         What,  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

Co.,  Green's  "  Shorter  History  of  the  English  People" ; 
some  good  work  of  travel,  like  Stanley's  "Through 
the  Dark  Continent"  or  Nansen's  "  Farthest  North" ; 
and  some  book  on  popular  science,  like  Mace's  "His- 
tory of  a  Mouthful  of  Bread"  or  John  Burroughs' 
"Wake  Robin."  Urge  him  to  add  to  this  collection 
exerj  year.  Let  him  hunt  the  stores  for  books  to  his 
liking,  and  in  a  short  time  he  will  be  a  book-lover  and 
a  student. 

Most  advice  about  reading  is  too  vague  or  too  pe- 
dantic. I  well  recollect  when  a  member  of  a  boys' 
literary  society  how  we  were  advised  hj  a  scholarly 
clergyman  to  read  the  old  English  divines  and  "  The 
Correlation  and  Conservation  of  Forces,"  and  how  ab- 
surd the  suggestion  seemed  to  us.  I  have  tried  to  lead 
my  own  son  from  one  book  to  another  as  his  curiosity 
was  excited,  never  forcing  or  giving  him  a  stupid  book, 
but  waiting  for  his  mind  to  open  and  be  ready  to  re- 
ceive new  impressions. 

In  a  New  York  public  school  there  is  a  collection 
of  United  States  Government  reports  presented  by  a 
military  friend.  The  pupils  delight  in  studying  in 
these  documents  the  events  of  the  Eebellion,  and  thus 
learn  history  at  first  hand.  A  boj'  who  has  been  con- 
tent with  Oliver  Optic  and  Alger  will  suddenly  be- 
come absorbed  in  the  official  record  of  the  Monitw  or 
Kearsarge  contest,  or  in  Sherman's  march  to  the  sea, 
and  will  master  their  smallest  details.  Books  of 
reference  are  also  in  great  demand,  and  the  standard 
text-books  on  mechanics  and  other  branches  of  science 
have  had  their  covers  worn  off  by  hard  usage.  Among 
the  girl  pupils,  Buskin  is  much  sought  for. 

It  is  a  pleasant  custom  in  some  families  to  select  a 


WJiat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      57 

special  topic  every  winter  for  reading,  perhaps  in 
connection  with  a  lecture  course,  or  to  follow  the 
Chautauqua  home  reading  course.* 

Rev.  Theodore  L.  Cuyler,  one  of  the  most  fertile 
and  vivid  authors,  says  he  has  been  most  influenced 
by  "tonic  writers";  Henry  Drummond  was  stimu- 
lated by  Emerson,  Carlyle,  Ruskin  and  Matthew 
Arnold.  Tyndall  says  it  was  Emerson's  books  that 
got  him  out  of  bed  and  at  work  at  5  a.m.  in  his 
laboratory. 

Of  the  making  of  books  there  is  no  end,  and  any 
one  might  be  daunted  by  the  vast  array  in  libraries. 
But  the  ordinary  reader  need  read  only  the  best  books 
in  each  department,  which,  Frederic  Harrison  says, 
may  be  comprised  in  a  couple  of  hundred  volumes, 
exclusive  of  fiction.  Most  books  are  of  temporary 
interest  or  mere  comments  on  other  works,  and  it  is 
surprising  how  little  truly  original  and  first-hand 
writing  there  is.  Sir  John  Lubbock  "  One  Hundred 
Best  Books  "  could  be  read  b}-  an  industrious  student 
in  a  twelvemonth,  and  any  person  of  moderate  leisure 
might  easily  peruse  them. 

Rev.  E.  E.  Hale  says  that  a  person  who  will  take 
up  some  topic,  and  study  it  in  detail,  may  in  a  month 
be  in  advance  of  any  but  the  specialist.  Books  are 
now  so  cheap  that  any  one  can  collect  them.  For  one 
hundred   and   fifty  dollars    one  may  buy  a  library 

*  I  should  urge  every  earnest  boy  aud  girl  who  is  ambitious  to 
improve  his  or  her  mind  to  join  the  Chautauqua  Home  Reading 
Circle.  It  will  be  easy  to  get  some  friend  to  unite  with  you  in 
forming  a  circle,  and  thus  have  the  benefit  of  joint  study  and  dis- 
cussion. Write  to  Dr.  J.  H.  Vincent,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  for  par- 
ticulars. 


58       IVhai  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livimj  ? 

sufficient  for  the  average  family.  "  Fifteen  minutes  a 
day,"  says  President  Eliot,  "given  to  reading,  would 
in  thirty  years  make  the  difference  between  a  culti- 
vated and  an  uncultivated  man  or  woman." 

Oliver  Wendell  Holmes'  advice  about  reading  is 
eminently  practical : 

"  I  believe  in  reading,  in  a  large  proportion,  by  sub- 
jects rather  than  by  authors.  Some  books  must  be 
read  tasting,  as  it  were,  every  word.  Tennyson  will 
bear  that,  as  Milton  would,  as  Gray  would — for  they 
tasted  every  word  themselves,  as  Ude  or  Careme 
would  taste  a  potage  meant  for  a  king  or  a  queen. 
But  once  become  familiar  with  a  subject,  so  as  to 
know  what  you  wish  to  learn  about  it,  and  you  can 
read  a  page  as  a  flash  of  lightning  reads  it.  Take 
a  lesson  from  Houdin  and  his  sons'  practice  of  look- 
ing in  at  a  shop-window,  remembering  all  they  saw. 
Learn  to  read  a  page  in  the  shortest  possible  time,  and 
to  stand  a  thorough  examination  on  its  contents." 

In  regard  to  fiction,  he  adds : 

"All  these  young  women  who  pass  their  days  and 
nights  in  reading  endless  storj'-books— novels,  so- 
called,  doubtless  from  their  want  of  novelty — what 
are  they  doing  but  pouring  water  into  buckets  whose 
bottoms  are  so  full  of  holes  as  a  colander,  and  which 
would  have  nothing  to  show  if  Niagara  had  been 
emptied  into  them !" 

Here  is  a  list  of  the  great  works  in  fiction  which 
every  one  ought  to  read  if  he  can:  Scott's  "Ivanhoe" 
and  "Talisman";  Dickens'  "David  Copperfield"  and 
"Pickwick";  Thackeray's  "Vanity  Fair"  and  "  Henry 
Esmond";  George  Eliot's  "Adam  Bede"  and  "Ro- 
mola";  Charlotte  Bronte's  "Jane  Eyre";  Wilkie  Col- 


WMt  SJiaJl  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  TAvhifj  ?       50 

lins'  "The  Woman  in  White";  Charles  Reade's  "Peg 
Woffiugton"  and  "Never  Too  Late  to  Mend";  Du- 
mas' "Monte  Cristo";  Mrs.  Craik's  "John  Halifax"; 
Victor  Hugo's  "Les  Miserables";  Cooper's  "Spy" 
and  " Deerslayer"  series ;  Howells'  "Silas  Lapham"; 
Blackmore's  "Lorna  Doone";  Stevenson's  "Kid- 
napped" and  "David  Balfour";  Conan  Doyle's  "The 
White  Company" ;  Barrie's  "  Little  Minister. "  "  The 
Princess  of  Tliule,"  "The  Scarlet  Letter,"  "Uncle 
Tom's  Cabin,"  "Don  Quixote,"  "Gil  Bias,"  "Debit 
and  Credit,"  "Quits,"  "Romance  of  a  Poor  Young 
Man,"  and  Tolstoi's  "War  and  Peace." 

When  I  was  an  office-boy,  my  employer,  an  old- 
time  merchant,  had  a  large  collection  of  orations  and 
speeches  by  Daniel  Webster,  John  Quincy  Adams, 
and  their  contemporaries,  which  was  a  constant  de- 
light to  me.  Later  on  I  read  the  Lincoln-Douglas 
debate,  and  heard  the  great  speeches  of  Wendell  Phil- 
lips, Charles  Sumner,  and  the  other  Anti-Slaverj'  ora- 
tors. I  would  not  exchange  this  experience  for  any 
second-hand  acquaintance  with  Demosthenes  and 
Cicero. which  might  have  disciplined  my  mind,  but 
which  could  never  fill  VQ.y  soul  as  these  did  with  pa- 
triotic fervor  and  enthusiasm  for  humanity.  The 
young  American  who  is  more  moved  by  visiting  the 
site  of  Marathon  or  Waterloo  than  by  "The  rude 
bridge  that  arched  the  flood,  where  once  the  em- 
battled farmers  stood  and  fired  the  shot  heard  round 
the  world,"  or  by  Gettysburg  and  Appomatox,  ia 
surely  lacking  in  true  manhood. 


GO       What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 
LEARN  TO  SPEAK  AND  TO  WRITE. 

Every  boy  should  join  a  debating-club,  as  I  liave 
said  before,  to  learn  to  think  on  his  feet  and  express 
himself  clearly  and  forcibly.  It  is  a  good  discipline 
to  listen  to  the  discussion  of  public  questions  and  to 
weigh  and  consider  opposing  arguments.  It  is  well 
also  to  have  to  defend  one's  opinions  and  to  show  the 
fallacy  of  opposing  arguments.  Most  young  people 
inherit  their  opinions  on  religious,  political,  and  so- 
cial questions,  and  rarely  hear  them  controverted. 
They  should  be  taught  the  reasons  why  their  parents 
hold  certain  views,  and  not  take  things  for  granted, 
or  be  content  with  assuming  that  every  one  who 
differs  with  them  must  be  a  fool.  It  was  in  the  keen 
debates  in  the  Western  country  store,  on  long  winter 
nights,  that  Lincoln  sharpened  his  mind  and  gathered 
knowledge,  and  this  was  the  training-school  for  scores 
of  other  famous  Americans. 

It  would  be  well  for  a  boy  to  hear  able  lawyers  ar- 
gue some  important  case  in  court.  He  should  also 
attend  public  meetings  and  churches  of  other  denomi- 
nations than  his  own,  so  as  to  listen  to  the  great  ora- 
tors and  divines  of  his  time.  Almost  any  boy  can 
find  opportunities  to  hear  eloquent  public  speakers 
discuss  the  issues  of  the  day. 

Many  persons  fancy  that  the  oratorical  art  is  a  mere 
accomplishment,  unless  one  aims  to  be  a  lawyer  or 
clergyman.  But  in  every  occupation  it  is  an  advan- 
tage to  talk  well.  Not  only  is  it  the  salesman's  chief 
resource,  but  in  every  walk  in  life  it  is  an  advantage 
to  be  able  to  state  one's  views  clearly  and  succinctly. 
The  chief  end  of  speech  is  to  persuade,  and  even  the 


What  S/mll  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livimj  ?       61 

greatest  natural  gifts  should  be  cultivated  to  the  high- 
est degree. 

Agaiu,  to  be  able  to  write  with  precision,  with  clear- 
ness, and  with  convincing  power  will  always  be  an  aid 
in  any  pursuit.  Every  business  man  has  to  write  let- 
ters, draw  contracts,  and  negotiate  by  letter,  and  if  he 
cannot  express  himself  well  he  is  at  a  disadvantage. 
Therefore  the  time  sj^ent  in  the  study  of  the  art  of 
expression,  both  with  the  voice  and  with  the  pen,  will 
be  found  to  yield  rich  returns. 

De  Quince}'  said  the  best  writing  of  his  day  Avas  to 
be  found  in  the  familiar  letters  of  cultivated  English 
women.  Children  should  be  encouraged  to  write 
freel}'  to  their  relatives  and  friends.  No  better  prac- 
tice, both  in  observation  and  expression,  could  be  de- 
vised. Such  a  correspondence,  which  I  began  at 
thirteen,  with  a  dear  old  Quaker  aunt  living  in  the 
country,  and  which  I  kept  up  till  manhood,  was  at 
once  a  delight  and  an  admirable  training ;  and  a  cor- 
respondence which  I  maintained  with  a  relative  in 
the  Union  army  was  also  of  inestimable  advantage. 

One  of  the  refinements  of  civilization  is  the  art  of 
writing  a  short  note.  Voltaire  possessed  this  happy 
faculty  in  the  highest  degree,  and  Parton  remarks  in 
his  biography  that  even  his  brief  invitations  to  a 
neighbor  to  call  and  sup  with  him  were  models  of  wit 
and  aptness  of  phrase. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

VALUE  OF  AGREEABLE  MANNERS. 

Courtesy  Oils  the  Machinery  of  Life — The  Art  of  Making 
Friends — Cultivate  the  Social  Faculty — Men  with  a  Genius  for 
Friendship — Franklin  on  Disputation — Examples  of  Urbane  Men 
and  the  Reverse— Shyness  a  Fault— Army  and  Navy  Officers 
Always  Polite — Every  One  Helps  the  Genial  Man. 

The  elements  of  success  are  everywhere  tlie  same : 
patience  and  persistency,  exact  knowledge,  a  trained 
judgment,  and  agreeable  manners.  Tliis  last  posses- 
sion is  not  sufficiently  regarded. 

Tlie  artist  Whistler,  of  "Trilby"  fame,  wrote  an 
essay  on  "The  Pleasant  Art  of  Making  Enemies,"  an 
art  very  popular  with  jiroud  and  irritable  persons, 
but  which  should  be  studiously  neglected  by  all 
others.  Friction  is  an  obstacle  in  life  as  in  machin- 
ery. Suavity  and  courtesy  are  proofs  both  of  good 
breeding  and  of  worldly  wisdom.  The  contentious 
man  is  his  own  worst  foe.  I  might  cite  scores  of  ex- 
amples of  the  value  of  agreeable  manners.  Chauncey 
Depew  is  always  courteous  and  accessible.  The  late 
Henry  Monett,  who  rose  from  messenger-boy  to  be 
General  Passenger  Agent  of  the  New  York  Central, 
won  hosts  of  friends  because  he  was  never  too  busy 
to  be  good-natured.  It  was  said  of  Dr.  Fordyce 
Barker  that  whoever  sat  next  him  at  dinner  became 
his  admirer  for  life.  Simon  Cameron  was  ever  con- 
ciliatory and  preferred  going  around  an  obstacle  to 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Liv'imj  ?       63 

runniug  against  it.  Mr.  Kinsella,  a  famous  Brooklyn 
politician,  said  be  could  not  afford  the  luxury  of 
hatred,  and  Sir  John  Macdonald,  the  Canadian 
statesman,  said :  "  A  public  man  should  have  no  resent- 
ments." Col.  Tom  Scott  never  antagonized  anyone 
directly,  and  was  noted  for  his  cheerful,  buoyant  tem- 
per and  the  grace  with  which  he  could  say  *'No." 
Gen.  C.  H.  Taylor,  of  the  Boston  Globe,  says:  "I 
owe  my  success  to  being  good-humored  with  every 
one."  Gambetta  won  men  to  his  support  by  a  smile, 
a  hon  mot,  or  a  good  story.  Lord  Beaconsfield,  when 
asked  why  Queen  Victoria  showed  him  so  much  favor, 
replied:  "Well — er — the  fact  is,  I — er — never  con- 
tradict, and— er — I  sometimes — er — forget." 

The  art  of  making  friends  should  therefore  be  sedu- 
lously cultivated.  Every  one  appreciates  the  value 
of  acquaintance.  Men  join  clubs,  lodges,  and  other 
associations,  purely  for  the  sake  of  making  valuable 
connections.  But  one  cannot  expect  to  win  confidence 
and  respect  by  merely  hobnobbing  with  people.  Even 
dissipated  men  respect  sobriety,  and  no  one  would  pre- 
fer a  lawyer,  doctor,  architect  or  salesman  who  con- 
stantly frequented  billiard  rooms  or  saloons. 

A  large  circle  of  acquaintances  is  the  best  capital  in 
life.  One  never  knows  when  a  friend  may  do  you  a 
service  by  a  word  of  commendation  or  introduction, 
and  it  ennobles  the  nature  of  man  to  be  able  to  recip- 
rocate it.  Scores  of  men  gained  their  first  start 
through  the  happy  faculty  of  making  friends.  No 
fairy  gift  is  more  valuable,  excepting  the  faculty  for 
hard  work. 

Yet  this  talent  need  not  imply  offensive  assur- 
ance.   A  Chicago  merchant,  who  did  not  pronounce 


64       JVhat  SJmU  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

his  words  very  clearly,  remarked  to  a  publisher :  "  A 
man  who  has  health  and  strength  and  God  on  his  side 
is  sure  to  succeed."  "These  are  my  sentiments  to  a 
T,"  said  the  other;  "a  man  with  health  and  strength 
and  gall  on  his  side  is  sure  to  succeed  every  time." 
But  this  interpretation  of  the  maxim  shortly  after- 
ward brought  the  enterprising  publisher  to  prison. 
The  common  impression  that  "cheek"  is  necessary 
to  success  is  a  mistake.  Quiet  dignity  and  ease  of 
manner  are  far  better.  The  man  of  pleasant  ad- 
dress, who  thoroughly  understands  his  business, 
always  makes  the  best  impression.  Therefore,  cul- 
tivate the  social  faculty.  Don't  live  aloof  from  your 
fellows,  but  by  associating  with  them  acquire  ease 
and  tact. 

It  is  never  w^ise  to  associate  with  your  inferiors,  but 
every  one  should  try  to  meet  superior  men  and  women 
and  profit  by  their  companionship.  He  should  join 
his  trade  organization  or  professional  club,  and  thus 
profit  by  contact  with  his  rivals.  Such  associations 
test  a  man's  quality,  rub  off  the  angles  and  knotty 
points,  and  take  the  conceit  out  of  him. 

Some  men  are  born  wdth  such  winning  ways  that 
they  bind  others  to  them  "with  hooks  of  steel."  A 
striking  instance  of  this  happy  gift  was  seen  in  Mac- 
Gahan,  the  newspaper  correspondent,  who  performed 
such  feats  in  the  Eusso-Turkish  War.  Though  quiet, 
reserved,  and  undemonstrative,  and  in  no  sense  a 
"jolly  fellow,"  he  seemed  at  ease  with  everyone,  from 
the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas  dow^n  to  the  private  soldiers, 
and  he  was  idolized  by  Skobeleff,  Ai-chibald  Forbes, 
Villers,  and  hundreds  of  other  men.  In  short,  he  had 
a  genius  for  friendship.     Mr.  HoUey,  the  engineer 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  foi'  a  Living  ?       65 

and  improver  of  the  Bessemer  steel  industrj',  had  the 
same  happy  gift,  and  his  bust  in  Washington  Square, 
New  York,  is  a  proof  of  the  love  and  esteem  which  he 
inspired.  Charles  Lamb,  Arnold  Toynbee,  Lincoln, 
and  General  Armstrong,  founder  of  the  Hampton 
School,  all  possessed  this  lovable  quality  to  a  high 
degree. 

Every  young  man  should  read  Franklin's  "  Autobio- 
graphy," and  note  how  that  astute  philosopher  and 
diplomat  gave  up  being  positive  and  self-assertive.  In 
youth  he  was  pert,  aggressive,  and  conceited,  but  he 
learned  wisdom  by  observation  and  mastered  these 
defects.  Listead  of  arguing  aggressively,  he  studied 
how  to  persuade  and  win  men  to  his  side,  yet  without 
truckling  to  their  prejudices  or  3'ielding  his  own  con- 
victions. Thus  he  kept  friends  even  with  strong  op- 
ponents, and  won  their  respect  for  his  sturdy  inde- 
pendence. It  is  no  wonder  that  his  judgment  was  so 
valued  and  that  his  services  were  sought  by  all  classes, 
and  finally  by  the  public  in  the  most  varied  and  re- 
sponsible positions.  He  was  a  model  American  and 
a  citizen  of  the  world. 

Lord  Dufferin  ascribes  his  success  to  mastery  of  for- 
eign languages,  skill  in  public  speaking,  and  to  ca7-e- 
ful  attention  to  manner.  Andrew  Jackson,  despite  his 
rough  experience  in  early  life,  was  remarkable  for  his 
courtly  bearing.  William  M.  Evarts,  when  Secretary 
of  State,  alv/ays  tried  to  see  everybody  who  called : 
"I  never  make  any  appointments.  If  any  one  calls 
and  asks  me  to  fix  a  time  when  he  can  see  me  for  half 
an  hour,  I  say,  'Oh,  take  it  now.'  The  result  is  that 
I  probably  get  through  in  five  minutes."  Mr.  Evarts 
seemed  never  to  be  worried  by  interrui)tions.  In 
6 


66        jyhal  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

England  the  making  of  appointments  often  consumes 
more  time  than  the  business  transacted. 

Dr.  Evans,  the  famous  American  dentist  in  Paris, 
won  his  way  to  success  largely  through  his  social 
qualities.  Through  friendship  with  Louis  Napoleon 
he  gained  most  of  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe  as  his 
patients.  Nelson  had  winning  manners  and  an  in- 
imitable charm  due  to  his  enthusiasm  and  fresh  per- 
sonality, which  reflected  his  generous  and  kindly 
nature.  Daniel  Lamont,  Secretary  of  War  under 
President  Cleveland,  and  ex  -  Postmaster  -  General 
James  owed  their  rapid  advancement  largely  to  their 
tact  and  pleasant  bearing.  On  the  other  hand,  Abram 
S.  Hewitt,  when  Mayor  of  New  York,  made  every  one 
uncomfortable  by  his  chronic  irritability,  and  did  not 
accomplish  half  so  much  as  Mayor  Strong,  who, 
though  a  positive  man,  and  subject  to  gout,  had  a 
genial  manner  toward  visitors. 

President  Adams,  formerly  of  Cornell,  in  his  first 
annual  address,  laid  stress,  first,  on  the  development 
of  the  mind ;  second,  on  the  development  of  character ; 
and  third,  on  the  development  of  manner.  "  I  do  not 
mean  here  exactlj'-  what  would  be  meant  by  polite- 
ness ;  but  I  mean  that  indescribable  something  which 
attaches  itself  to  certain  people,  not  so  much  because 
of  what  they  can  do  as  because  of  what  they  seem  to 
be  to  you ;  because  of  their  manner  toward  jou  and 
toward  those  with  whom  they  associate.  I  would 
not  attach  so  great  importance  to  the  development  of 
manner  as  to  the  development  of  strength  of  mind. 
At  the  same  time  strength  of  mind  is  practically  use- 
less unless  it  is  accompanied  with  such  manners  as  to 
make  it  effective  upon  those  with  whom  we  associate. " 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?       67 

A  writer  in  Hie  Outlook  remarks  that  the  graduates 
of  West  Point  and  Annapolis  are  distinguished  the 
world  over  for  politeness  and  consideration  for  the 
feelings  and  rights  of  others.  In  club  smoking- 
rooms,  in  the  field,  or  in  the  ball-room,  they  show  at 
its  best  what  American  manhood  is  capable  of,  when 
regulated  b}'  discipline  and  polished  by  habit. 

John  Quincy  Adams'  lack  of  urbanity  alienated 
friends  and  created  enemies.  It  greatly  hampered 
his  influence,  made  him  feel  isolated,  and  caused  him 
to  be  neglected  in  his  old  age.  His  irascibility  was 
partly  a  matter  of  temperament,  and  partly  caused 
by  his  too  precocious  and  isolated  3'outh.  His  early 
letters  and  diarj'  are  solemnly  mature  and  full  of 
moralizing.  He  seems  never  to  have  known  fun  or 
frolic.  Freeman,  the  historian,  who  was  taught  by 
a  tutor,  ascribed  his  shyness,  awkwardness,  and  im- 
patience of  views  differing  from  his  own  to  the  lack 
of  intercourse  with  lads  of  his  own  age.  He  thought, 
however,  that  the  advantages  of  freedom  and  leisure 
to  follow  studies  of  his  own  choice  balanced  these 
drawbacks.  Probably  if  he  had  associated  more  with 
other  students,  he  would  not  have  been  so  arrogant 
and  unpopular  in  later  years. 

Tyndall  and  Huxley  were  both  social  beings.  They 
early  joined  the  Red  Lion  Club,  which  gave  feasts 
of  Spartan  simplicity  with  extremel}'  unconventional 
orations  and  queer  songs,  and  which  were  in  direct 
contrast  to  the  official  banquets  of  the  British  As- 
sociation, with  their  high  tables  and  "butterboat" 
speeches.  Prince  Lobanoff-Ilostovosk}^  the  great 
Russian  statesman,  who  was  of  i)ure  Slav  blood  and 
of  great  independence  of  character,  owed  his  success 


68       What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

largely  to  his  extreme  affability  toward  the  Czar,  his 
colleagues,  and  his  subordinates.  Yet  when,  ambas- 
sador at  Vienna,  he  received  a  telegram  from  the  Grand 
Duke  ordering  him  to  prepare  rooms  at  the  embassy, 
he  promptly  answered,  "  Your  Highness  must  go  to 
a  hotel." 

Agreeable  manners  are  especially  helpful  in  the 
professions.  They  are  indispensable  to  the  family 
doctor.  A  great  English  physician  when  asked  what 
a  young  medical  man  should  read  replied,  "Don 
Quixote,"  thereby  showing  how  important  he  re- 
garded a  knowledge  of  human  nature  to  the  prac- 
titioner. A  famous  New  York  physician  told  his 
class  of  students  to  be  specially  careful  not  to  wear 
creak}^  shoes.  A  doctor's  visit  and  presence  should 
be  a  benison  to  his  patient. 

William  E.  Russell,  who  was  nominated  for  Gov- 
ernor of  Massachusetts  at  thirtj^-one,  and  after  two 
failures  was  elected  three  times,  owed  his  success 
largely  to  his  social  qualities.  His  speeches  were 
logical,  sober,  and  solid,  but  among  the  people  he 
was  genial  and  warm.  He  not  only  attracted  men 
but  made  them  his  allies.  The  man  ^\dth  whom  he 
shook  hands  believed  that  Russell  had  come  to  town 
especiall}^  to  see  him.  T\Tiile  Governor  he  gave  time 
to  rowing,  riding,  shooting,  and  tennis,  and  thus  kept 
in  touch  with  young  men.  He  won  the  commenda- 
tion of  elder  men  by  the  excellence  of  his  appoint- 
ments and  by  his  masterly  discussion  of  public  topics. 

A  young  New  York  business  man  made  himself 
valuable  to  his  employers  in  a  peculiar  way.  His 
firm  had  important  social  relations  with  manj^  out- 
of-town  customers  who  were  frequent  visitors  at  the 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  foo'  a  Living  ?       69 

office.  One  day  the  yoiing  man  was  called  upon  to 
attend  to  such  a  visitor.  He  did  it  with  such  tact 
and  ability  that  he  was  relieved  from  other  work  that 
he  might  devote  himself  exclusively  to  the  social  end 
of  the  firm's  business.  His  salary  has  been  raised 
several  times,  and  his  services  are  now  considered 
indispensable. 

Charles  Lanier,  in  writing  of  "The  Working  of 
a  Bank,"  in  Scrihner's  Magazine,  lays  special  stress 
upon  the  value  in  business  of  personal  and  social 
qualities.  "  We  contract  a  habit  of  buying  our  paper 
from  some  particular  newsboy  simply  because  his 
cheery  voice,  red  cheeks,  and  engaging  quickness 
have  attracted  us — maybe  unconsciously  on  either 
side.  We  find  it  far  easier  to  withstand  a  book 
agent  or  drummer  or  advertising  solicitor  if  he  be 
bilious  looking,  diflident,  or  awkward,  if  he  possess 
no  spark  of  intrinsic  interest,  and  if  we  haven't 
chatted  wdth  him  in  the  casual  smoking-car.  In  pro- 
fessional ranks  one  notices  the  incomparable  advan- 
tage enjoyed  by  the  physician,  the  lawyer,  and  the 
clergyman  who  has  a  good  physique,  an  imposing 
presence,  and  a  well-selected  stock  of  stories.  There 
are  minute  gradations  of  the  art  of  bringing  the  per- 
sonal equation  to  bear  on  one's  business  success,  and 
while  the  banker  uses  only  the  higher  and  more  sub- 
limated branches,  they  are  as  necessary  to  him  as,  in 
a  more  primary  form,  they  are  to  the  peripatetic  in- 
surance agent." 

In  recommending  tact  and  agreeable  manners  I  do 
not  for  a  moment  advocate  truckling  to  people.  If 
you  would  retain  the  world's  respect,  it  won't  do  to 
"  eat  dirt"  or  be  "  hail  fellow  well  met"  with  every- 


70       What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

body.  Washington,  Jefferson,  Franklin,  Henry  Clay, 
Jackson,  Lincoln,  Grant  and  Gladstone,  all  main- 
tained a  certain  reserve,  and  dared  to  run  counter  to 
public  opinion.  Hamerton  states  that  Garibaldi  kept 
close  in  his  tent,  and  was  hardly  seen  by  his  soldiers. 
Stanley,  the  African  explorer,  held  aloof  not  only  from 
his  men  but  from  his  officers.  Yet  both  of  these 
men  were  idolized  by  their  followers. 

Shyness  is  a  fault,  and  should  be  overcome  by  as- 
sociating freely  with  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men 
and  women.  It  is  often  due  to  morbid  self-esteem, 
and  the  fear  of  making  one's  self  ridiculous.  Easy 
manners  come  from  contact  with  men  and  affairs, 
and  must  be  studied,  just  as  the  young  actor  must 
learn  to  walk  naturally  on  and  off  the  stage. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  COUNTRY  BOY. 

Effects  of  Environment — The  Country  Boy — Opportunities  in 
Small  Communities — Try  the  Nearest  Thing  First — Discussion 
at  the  Twilight  Club— Climbing  a  Long  or  a  Short  Ladder — Fa- 
mous Men  Bom  in  Small  Places — Country  Boys  in  Public  Life. 

To  be  born  in  a  stable  does  not  make  one  a  horse, 
yet  a  boy's  surroundings  have  much  to  do  with  his 
future.  Strong  natures  like  Lincoln  flourish  in  any 
soil.  Nevertheless,  the  boy  who  is  to  develop  into  a 
true  man  must,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  have  the 
best  nurture.  Lacking  this,  many  boys  will  degen- 
erate and  become  failures.  The  world  is  full  of  dere- 
licts drifting  aimlessly  about,  and  perhaps  wrecking 
other  and  stancher  craft. 

Children  brought  up  in  city  tenements  tend  to  be- 
come vicious  and  sickly,  but  if  transported  to  country 
homes  they  grow  up  to  be  strong  and  self-respecting 
men  and  women. 

The  inquiry  is  frequently  made,  Why  do  not  boys 
stay  on  the  farm  ?  The  reason  is  that  in  man}-  places 
farming  does  not  pay,  and,  if  there  are  several  sons  in 
the  family,  there  is  seldom  a  chance  for  more  than 
one  to  earn  a  living  at  home.  The  country  boy  goes 
to  the  district  school  and  learns  "  the  three  R's" ;  he 
may  attend  a  high  school,  but  that  is  usually  the  ex- 
tent of  his  book  knowledge.     If  he  seeks  the  nearest 


72       WJiaf  SJudl  Ovr  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

village  or  small  town,  there  are  few  opportunities  for 
employment.  The  grocery-store  will  need  a  clerk  and 
driver,  the  dry-goods  dealer  a  few  salesmen.  There 
will  be  places  on  the  railroad,  in  the  express,  insur- 
ance, and  telegraph  offices,  and  with  the  local  news- 
paper, but  they  are  ill  paid  and  rarely  lead  to  pro- 
motion. If  there  are  factories  they  wall  give  work  to 
a  number.  The  lawyer,  doctor,  editor,  surveyor,  and 
dentist  earn  a  bare  existence.  In  every  community'  a 
carpenter,  blacksmith,  cobbler,  tinsmith,  and  mason 
will  find  occupation  most  of  the  time.  If  they  are 
intelligent  and  thrifty,  they  ought  to  gain  a  comfort- 
able living.  There  are  also  chances  for  contractors 
to  do  ditching  and  grading,  teaming,  and  similar 
work. 

An  eminent  New  York  lawyer  who  came  from  a 
Western  village  said  to  me:  "My  father  was  a  car- 
penter. Several  of  my  brothers  have  followed  trades. 
I  tried  to  be  a  machinist  and  often  slept  on  the  ash- 
heap  by  the  furnace.  I  then  took  up  type-setting,  but 
I  hadn't  enough  brains  to  be  a  mechanic ;  so  I  studied 
law.  I  think  the  country  boy  has  an  advantage  over 
the  city  boy.  Most  of  the  men  in  my  native  place 
who  have  got  on  were  sons  of  mechanics  or  laborers, 
yet  they  went  to  college  and  are  successful  lawyers, 
doctors,  merchants,  and  clergj-men.  One  boy,  whose 
father  was  a  track-walker,  ran  away  to  attend  school, 
and  is  now  a  leading  Buffalo  lawyer.  Many  such 
boys  have  positions  in  oil  refineries  and  factories, 
where  they  earn  good  pay.  They  live  in  comfort, 
own  their  own  homes,  and  lay  by  money.  A  boy 
who  has  the  right  stuff  in  him  can  usually  get  started 
anywhere." 


WJmt  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?        73 

Yet  it  is  often  a  mistake  for  a  3'oiing  man  to  leave 
home.  Like  a  tree,  be  may  take  a  long  while  to  get 
rooted  in  a  new  spot.  If  he  has  any  chance  near 
home,  he  had  better  take  advantage  of  it  until  he  has 
developed  his  powers  and  saved  a  little  money. 
Then  if  he  chooses  to  prosi)ect  a  little,  he  will  be 
able  to  take  advantage  of  any  opportunity'  that  ofl'ers. 

Take  the  first  thing  that  offers,  and,  as  Chauncey 
Depew  advised,  "  stick  and  hustle"  till  you  have  made 
the  place  worth  keeping  or  can  find  something  better. 
Be  a  big  toad  in  a  little  puddle  rather  than  the  op- 
posite, and  avoid  the  overcrowded  centres. 

Henry  Watterson,  of  the  Louisnlle  Courier-Journal, 
commends  the  life  of  the  country  editor  as  giving  far 
more  independence  and  quite  as  much  comfort  as 
metropolitan  journalism.  Thousands  of  men  in  small 
communities  bring  up  their  families  in  comfort  who 
would  have  been  not  a  whit  happier  in  a  great  city. 
Such  men  grow  slowly,  but  they  have  time  to  ripen. 

Instead  of  seeking  the  great  city  with  its  throng  of 
struggling  competitors,  I  would  advise  the  ambitious 
youth  to  \xj  to  get  started  in  a  town  with  a  future  be- 
fore it.  There  are  boundless  opportunities  for  men 
of  ability  and  energy  in  the  West  and  South.  A  lit- 
tle capital,  however,  is  needed,  and  the  stranger  with- 
out means  is  as  badly  off  in  a  new  as  in  an  old 
country. 

Many  large  business  enterprises  were  founded  by 
men  of  small  means  in  smaU  places.  The  wide  re- 
nown of  Douglas,  the  $3  shoe  man,  proves  that  with 
the  aid  of  advertising  a  man  of  energy  may  succeed 
anywhere.  Comfort,  the  paper  with  the  largest  cir- 
culation in  America,   was  started  in  Augusta,   Me. 


74       What  Slmll  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

Samuel  Bowles  and  Henry  Watterson  both  gained 
national  reputations  by  editing  provincial  journals. 
The  Detroit  Free  Press,  Danhiir>/  JVeu's,  and  Biirlimj- 
ton  Haioheye  were  known  all  over  the  world.  Emerson 
and  Bronson  Alcott  made  Concord  a  Mecca  for  all 
lovers  of  truth.  Hawthorne  brooded  and  wrote  there 
for  years,  waiting  for  the  world  to  discover  his  gen- 
ius. One  of  the  greatest  American  surgeons  prac- 
tised in  a  Kentucky  niral  community.  A  man  cannot 
permanently  hide  his  light  under  a  bushel. 

At  one  of  the  Twilight  Club  dinners  a  number  of 
the  members  gave  their  reasons  for  coming  to  New 
York  from  the  counti-y,  and  why  they  preferred  liv- 
ing in  New  York.  It  was  maintained  by  some  that 
the  metropolis  is  a  great  educator,  and  that  in  it  a  man 
can  keep  abreast  of  the  best  thought  and  culture  of 
the  time.  The  competition  is  severe,  but  the  rewards 
are  proportionate.  One  speaker  commended  the  edu- 
cational advantages  of  the  large  city,  and  thought  it 
the  best  place  for  children  to  get  a  start  in  life.  A 
physician  said  he  was  in  love  with  New  Y^'ork,  and 
could  not  be  persuaded  to  leave  it,  especially  from 
what  he  heard  of  doctor's  incomes  in  smaller  places. 
A  clergyman  praised  the  countless  opportunities  and 
privileges  of  the  metropolis,  and  said  he  felt  younger 
every  day.  A  school  principal  contended  that  the 
moral  tone  of  the  big  city  is,  in  many  respects,  in- 
finitely above  that  of  the  little  town  or  village.  The 
city  boy  seldom  enters  a  saloon,  but  in  smaller  places 
it  is  the  resort  of  young  and  old,  and  the  conversation 
is  not  improving.  On  the  other  hand,  a  distinguished 
lawyer  said  he  earned  his  bread  and  butter  in  New 
York,  but  he  did  not  call  it  "living,"  and  as  soon  as 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?        75 

he  had  a  clear  iDcomo  of  $500  ( !)  a  year  he  meant  to 
return  to  the  West,  get  a  new  jack-knife  and  a  soft  pine 
stick,  sit  on  the  tavern-porch  with  his  former  cronies, 
and  whittle  all  day  long.  Another  speaker  said: 
"  Strong  individualities  stand  out  in  the  small  com- 
munity with  almost  indecent  distinctness.  New  York 
is  a  good  place  to  enjoy  freedom  for  one's  idiosyn- 
cracies.  Yet  I  pity  the  child  brought  up  in  the  city, 
with  no  trees  or  brooks,  no  chance  to  go  fishing,  or 
to  play  outdoors  and  make  pets  of  domestic  animals." 

These  are  the  opinions  of  men  who  have  established 
themselves  in  the  metropolis ;  but  they  do  not  enable 
the  boy  who  wants  to  go  to  the  great  city  to  decide 
positively  whether  it  is  best  to  do  so.  "  It  is  a  ques- 
tion whether  you  care  to  climb  a  long  or  a  short  lad- 
der," said  a  friend.  In  the  large  city  one  can  rise 
higher,  though  there  are  greater  chances  of  falling 
lower.     The  greater  the  height  the  greater  the  fall. 

Neither  in  the  United  States  nor  abroad  have  the 
great  men  of  thought  and  action  been  city  born. 

The  early  Presidents  of  this  countiy  and  the  mem- 
bers of  their  cabinets  were  mostly  residents  of  small 
towns.  Washington,  Jefferson,  and  Adams  were 
farmers.  Of  President  McKinley's  cabinet  Secre- 
tary Sherman  came  from  Lancaster,  Ohio;  Lyman 
Gage  was  born  in  Madison  County,  N.  Y. ;  General 
Alger  was  a  farm  boy  in  the  Western  Keserve ;  Secre- 
tary McKemia,  though  a  native  of  Philadelphia,  was 
reared  in  Benicia,  Cal. ;  Secretary  Gary  came  from  a 
Connecticut  village;  Secretary  Long  from  Oxford 
County,  Me. ;  Cornelius  Bliss  is  a  native  of  Fall 
River.  Webster,  Clay,  Calhoun,  Jackson,  Seward, 
Grant,   General  Sherman,    Chase,   Lincoln,   Colfax, 


76       JVJMt  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

Garfield,  Hayes,  Garrison,  Beecher,  Horatio  Sey- 
mour, and  Gen.  Joseph  R.  Hawley  all  came  from 
small  communities. 

Newbury  port,  Mass.,  produced  a  remarkable  list 
of  notable  persons,  including  Wbittier  and  Harriet 
Prescott  Spofford.  Nantucket  was  the  birthplace  of 
Lucretia  Mott,  Maria  Mitchell,  and  Mrs.  Child. 
A  little  Maine  village  has  produced  a  vice-president 
(Hannibal  Hamlin),  a  Postmaster-General,  members 
of  Congress,  Governors,  and  prominent  lawyers, 
judges,  editors. 

Chauncey  Depew  came  to  New  York  from  Peek- 
skill;  Horace  Greeley  and  Charles  A.  Dana  from 
New  Hampshire ;  Cyrus  Field  from  the  Berkshires ; 
Grover  Cleveland  from  Caldwell,  N.  J. ;  ex-Mayor 
W.  L.  Strong,  W.  D.  Ho  wells,  the  Rockefellers,^  S. 
C.  T.  Dodd,  and  Whitelaw  Reid  from  Ohio;  Albert 
Shaw  from  Minnesota ;  R.  W.  Gilder  from  New  Jer- 
sey ;  Roswell  P.  Flower  from  Watertown ;  Russell 
Sage  from  Troy ;  Roscoe  Conkling  and  Noah  Davis 
from  Western  New  York;  Jay  Gould  and  H.  K. 
Thurber  from  the  Catskills;  Thomas  C.  Piatt  from 
Tioga  County ;  Levi  P.  Morton,  Chester  A.  Arthur, 
and  William  M.  Evarts  from  Vermont;  not  to  name 
a  hundred  other  countrybred  boys  who  have  made 
their  mark  in  the  metropolis. 

The  three  chief  managers  of  31c Chive's  3Jagazine 
were  country  boys  and  "chums"  at  Knox  College,  111. 

But  not  all  country  boys  who  come  to  the  city  suc- 
ceed. Many  men  lead  obscure  lives  in  the  great  cities 
who  might  have  won  honors  in  the  small  towns.  It 
requires  exceptional  ability  to  win  one's  way  against 
cut-throat  competition. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE   CITY   J30Y. 

Public-School  Studies  Superficial — "Clerk  Factories"— Incom- 
petent Applicants  for  Situations— Genteel  Occupations — Open- 
ings for  City  Boj's. 

The  city  boy,  despite  his  airs,  is  neither  so  vigorous 
nor  so  self-reliant  as  his  country  cousin.  He  finds 
more  opi^ortunities  to  earn  a  living,  but  he  meets 
with  more  rivals.  There  are  hundreds  of  applicants 
for  every  position,  and  competition  forces  the  pay 
down  to  the  lowest  point.  Living  expenses  are  also 
heavier.  The  risks  to  health  from  sedentary-  occupa- 
tions, long  hours  in  ill-ventilated  offices,  stores,  and 
workshops  are  serious.  There  are  fewer  inducements 
to  outdoor  exercise. 

George  Tallman,  writing  in  The  Christian  Union 
years  ago,  shows  how  little  the  citj-  boy  has  to  look 
forward  to.  Bootblacks  and  newsboys  earn  an  un- 
certain lix'ing,  and  are  exposed  to  temptation  and 
hardship.  Messenger  boys  earn  $3.50  a  week  and 
have  to  pay  for  their  uniforms  and  many  fines.  Cash 
boys  get  forty  cents  for  a  day  of  ten  hours.  Fifty 
cents  a  day  is  a  fair  average  for  boys  in  factories. 
Even  if  he  lives  at  home,  the  boy  who  is  forced  to  go 
on  the  street  or  into  a  factory  before  he  has  the 
strength  or  education  to  do  good  work  remains  an 
unskilled  worker  all  his  life.     Manufacturing  is  car- 


78       What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

ried  on  upon  a  larger  and  larger  scale.  The  division 
of  labor  is  greater  and  greater.  Not  only  does  the 
gulf  between  capitalist  and  laborer  widen,  but  with  it 
the  gulf  between  skilled  and  unskilled  labor.  The 
time  was  when  a  boy  who  went  in  at  the  bottom  could 
come  out  at  the  top.  But  this  is  scarcely  possible 
now,  excepting  in  rare  instances. 

A  prime  cause  of  this  state  of  things  is  the  super- 
ficial studies  in  the  public  schools.  The  poor  man's 
son  leaves  early  with  the  merest  rudiments  of  knowl- 
edge, and  is  only  fitted  to  begin  in  any  calling  at  the 
bottom  of  the  ladder.  The  average  city  boy  of  fifteen 
has  learned  to  write,  spell  tolerably  well,  and  cipher 
a  little.  He  has  a  smattering  of  geography  and 
American  history.  K  of  foreign  parentage  he  may 
speak  some  language  besides  English.  His  chief 
source  of  information  is  the  newspaper,  with  its 
hodgepodge  of  crime,  politics,  and  gossip.  He  has 
also  read  some  little  fiction. 

Many  youths  of  sixteen  can  hardly  write  a  receipt 
or  make  out  a  bill.  To  compose  an  ordinary  busi- 
ness letter  is  quite  beyond  their  powers.  Seventy 
applicants  for  a  clerkship  were  rejected  for  sheer 
ignorance.  A  business  man  remarked :  "  We  have  to 
make  boys  over  again  and  train  them  to  suit  our 
needs."  Thousands  of  foreigners  are  employed  be- 
cause native  Americans  of  equal  capacity  are  not  to 
be  had.  A  New  York  merchant  received  one  hundred 
and  fifty  replies  to  an  advertisement  for  an  office  boy 
of  sixteen;  wages,  $6  per  week.  Most  of  the  writers 
ignored  the  conditions  entirely.  They  all  showed 
carelessness,  want  of  neatness,  and  ignorance  of 
grammar.     Manj^  wrote  on  scraps  of  paper;  some  on 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Lkinrj  ?        79 

postal  cards;  others  with  red  ink.  Their  ages  ranged 
from  fifteen  to  thirtj^  and  the  salary  asked  was  from 
$7  to  $30.  Only  three  applications  were  really  cor- 
rect. 

Yet  there  is  a  steady  demand  in  a  variety  of  occu- 
pations for  really  competent  boys.  The  principal  of 
a  New  York  school,  famed  for  its  thoroiigh  instruc- 
tion, says  ever}'  capable  jmpil  is  apt  to  find  a  place 
when  he  graduates.  It  is  the  same  with  the  gradu- 
ates of  both  sexes  from  Packard's  Business  College 
and  other  institutions  that  train  students  thoroughly 
and  practicalh". 

New  York  is  a  hive  of  industry.  It  attracts  so 
many  strangers  in  search  of  work  that  the  beginner 
is  shoved  aside,  partlj-  because  he  is  untrained  and 
partly  because  a  full-grown  man  will  take  the  place 
at  the  same  pay.  A  good  many  boys  find  employ- 
ment as  porters,  drivers  of  wagons,  and  in  similar 
positions.  Places  on  the  police  force  are  in  great 
demand,  but  Commissioner  Koosevelt  found  it  diffi- 
cult to  secure  city  men  who  could  pass  the  examina- 
tion, and  had  to  invite  applicants  from  the  country. 
Postmen  and  firemen  get  good  pay,  and  such  places 
are  much  sought  after. 

It  is  rather  curious  to  consider  wh}'  so  few  native 
New  Yorkers  have  become  prominent.  In  a  pub- 
lished list  of  one  hundred  leading  citizens  of  the 
metropolis,  over  ninety  were  shown  to  be  country 
bred.  Seth  Low,  Theodore  Eoosevelt,  George  Gould, 
Louis  Tiffany,  Charles  W.  Dayton,  Stuyvesant  Fish, 
Perry  Belmont,  and  Edward  M.  Shepard  were  "  to  the 
manner  born,"  but  the  leading  divines,  editors,  doc- 
tors, artists,  and  business  men  are  immigrants  from 


80       What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

other  States  or  otlier  lands.  Is  it  from  lack  of  men- 
tal or  physical  vigor  that  the  city  stock  is  distanced 
by  these  competitors?  The  same  conditions  exist  in 
London,  Paris,  Berlin,  and  other  European  cities, 
which  are  filled  with  strangers  from  the  pro%ances, 
who,  because  of  their  greater  energy  and  capacity, 
supplant  the  city-bred  men ;  even  artists  are  not  de- 
veloped in  the  great  centres  of  culture.  They  spring 
up  anywhere  and  everywhere,  and  finally  drift  to  the 
cities  in  search  of  teachers  and  patrons. 

Horace  Greeley  justly  complained  that  our  public 
schools  are  only  "clerk-factories."  Their  desire  to 
follow  a  "  respectable"  calling  and  their  unfitness  for 
any  other  pursuit,  force  many  young  men  to  accept 
pitiful  pay  at  the  start,  and  even  to  pay  premiums  to 
enter  good  establishments.  After  working  for  years 
they  may  earn  from  $15  to  $18  as  entry-clerks  or  as- 
sistant bookkeepers.  Their  duties  are  monotonous. 
They  see  little  of  the  world,  make  few  acquaintances, 
and  are  apt  to  sink  into  a  rut.  If  they  are  with  a  large 
concern,  they  are  kept  at  one  thing  and  learn  nothing 
else,  while  relatives  and  young  men  with  "  influence" 
are  promoted  over  their  heads.  They  cannot  think 
of  starting  for  themselves,  because  they  have  no  capi- 
tal. If  they  marry  they  must  pinch  and  save  to  keep 
up  appearances,  while  if  they  have  large  families  or 
sickness  comes,  their  trials  are  often  tragic. 

I  am  speaking  of  the  mass  of  commercial  clerks. 
Of  course,  there  are  exceptional  cases  of  men  being 
taken  into  partnership,  or  placed  in  charge  of  agen- 
cies or  in  other  confidential  positions.  But  the  ma- 
jority of  clerks  and  bookkeepers  are  not  well  paid, 
and  when  they  pass  middle  life  they  are  apt  to  be 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?       81 

shelved.     Recently  a  capable  friend  of  mine  was  sum- 
marily dismissed  after  being  thirty  years  in  one  posi- 
tion.    Many  business  firms  are  merciless  toward  old 
and  tried  employees. 
6 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

LEARNING  A  TRADE. 

The  Best  Field  for  a  Boy  Who  Likes  Tools— Employers  Who 
Have  Risen  from  the  Ranks — Trades  Becoming  Dignified — Man- 
ual Training-Schools — The  Plumber's  Field— Value  of  Technical 
Training — What  Workmen  Should  Read. 

A  TEACHER  once  asked  me  with  great  earnestness, 
"  What  can  our  smart  boys  and  girls  do  besides  being 
lawyers'  clerks,  and  milliners?"  My  answer  was, 
"Set  the  boys  to  learning  trades."  Yet  the  very 
same  day  a  mechanic  complained  that  the  average 
young  woman  would  sooner  marrj^  a  "  counter-jump- 
er" with  $12  a  week  than  a  journeyman  earning  $3 
a  da3^  In  Philadelphia  an  advertisement  for  a  clerk 
brought  four  hundred  and  eighteen  answers,  while 
one  for  a  wheelwright's  apprentice  received  three. 
It  seems  a  sad  perversion  of  our  educational  sys- 
tem that  so  many  boys  consider  it  more  "  genteel"  to 
run  errands,  sweep  out  offices,  build  fires,  and  copy 
letters,  than  to  make  hats  or  shoes,  lay  bricks,  wield 
the  saw  or  jackplane,  handle  the  machinist's  file  or 
the  blacksmith's  hammer.  A  country  which  prides 
itself  upon  its  industrial  supremacy  and  inventive- 
ness, which  has  produced  such  men  as  Franklin, 
Robert  Fulton,  George  Steers,  Goodyear,  Bigelow, 
Horace  Greeley,  the  Hoe  brothers,  McCormick,  Car- 
negie, Edison,  Ericsson,  Herreshoff,  and  Fairbanks 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?       83 

should  foster  a  sentiment  that  would  lead  the  rising 
generation  to  rival  their  achievements. 

The  great  mass  of  the  builders  and  contractors 
whose  work  is  seen  in  the  monster  hotels,  apart- 
ment-houses, office-buildings,  theatres,  and  churches, 
erected  all  over  the  countrj'-,  have  risen  from  the  ranks. 
Most  of  them  have  worked  as  mechanics  and  some 
even  as  laborers. 

Mr.  See,  the  author  of  "Chordal's  Letters,"  a  prac- 
tical mechanic  and  expert  engineer,  writes  in  the 
American  Machinist:  "If  you  know  of  a  bright  six- 
teen-year-old boy,  smart  and  independent,  with  snap, 
pride,  poverty,  good  health,  and  a  common-school 
education,  and  with  a  hankering  after  the  mechanical 
arts,  tell  him  to  go  into  a  machine-shop  and  learn  the 
trade." 

"  Is  there  no  show  for  machinists?  Turn  to  the  last 
pages  of  the  American  Machinist,  and  there  read  the 
biography  of  the  workingman.  The  advertising  pages 
tell  the  tale.  Sixty  men  put  their  names  on  those 
Images.  They  employ  five  thousand  workmen  and 
over  $6,000,000  of  capital.  Were  these  sixty  men 
born  with  these  millions  in  their  pockets?  Did  they 
fall  heir  to  the  cash  and  the  shops,  at  an  early  age? 
Not  a  bit  of  it.  At  the  ago  of  eighteen  over  forty  of 
these  men  were  working  in  shops." 

James  Nasmith,  the  inventor  of  the  trip-hammer, 
was  the  son  of  an  artist,  who  was  also  an  amateur 
mechanic.  He  was  thoroughly  trained,  both  as  a 
draughtsman  and  in  the  use  of  tools.  When  ho 
visited  Henry  Maudsley  in  London  and  desired  to  be 
taken  as  an  apprentice,  he  was  at  first  rejected,  but 
upon  showing  his  drawings  and  specimens  of  his 


84       JVJuit  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livimj  ? 

mechanical  skill  he  obtained  admission,  not  as  an  ap- 
prentice but  as  Mr.  Maudsley's  personal  assistant. 
This  was  the  foundation  of  his  after-success.  Thou- 
sands of  other  mechanics  who  began  with  no  help  but 
a  stout  heart,  a  clear  head,  and  a  dogged  determina- 
tion to  win  success,  to-day  are  respected  members  of 
society. 

The  Talmud  says :  "  He  who  teaches  not  his  son  a 
trade  is  to  be  regarded  as  if  he  had  taught  him  how 
to  rob."  In  ancient  times  even  kings  were  required 
to  learn  trades,  so  as  to  be  self-supporting  in  case 
they  lost  their  crowns.  In  1894  Robert  Louis  Steven- 
son wrote :  "  Were  it  not  for  my  health,  which  made  it 
impossible,  I  could  not  find  it  in  my  heart  to  forgive 
myself  that  I  did  not  stick  to  an  honest,  commonplace 
trade  when  I  was  still  j^oung,  which  would  have  now 
supported  me  during  all  these  ill  j-ears." 

No  calling  should  be  avoided  because  it  may  not 
seem  genteel.  Surgery,  once  a  function  of  the  medi- 
aeval barber,  is  now  a  most  dignified  and  highly  paid 
profession.  So  with  dentistry,  pharmac}',  and  veteri- 
nary surgery,  which  rank  far  higher  than  any  one 
dreamed  of  a  generation  ago.  Within  that  period 
also  the  much-abused  plumber  has  become  a  sanitary 
engineer,  and  the  tinker  is  now  a  man  of  standing. 
The  express-business  and  news-dealing  have  grown 
from  humble  occupations  to  be  great  industries.  The 
family  nurse  is  the  graduate  of  a  training-school. 
Even  New  York  street-sweepers,  since  they  were  uni- 
formed, have  gained  dignity  and  public  respect. 

It  is  high  time  that  our  boys  should  be  brought  to 
face  the  fact  that  the  commercial  world  is  overstocked, 
and  that  it  is  foolish  to  enter  into  competition  with 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?       85 

the  throng  of  beginners,  who  all  want  to  get  rich  with 
the  least  effort,  and  rival  the  wealth  of  Gould  or  Vau- 
derbilt. 

An  ordinary  clerk  is  not  so  well  paid  as  a  first-class 
mechanic.  He  has  far  less  independence  and  not  half 
so  good  prospects.  The  mechanic's  work  is  more 
healthful;  he  is  less  likely  to  lose  his  place  in  dull 
times,  is  only  discharged  from  necessity,  and  has 
equal  chance  of  promotion.  The  average  clerk  does 
not  require  special  abilit}',  but  a  mechanic  must  be 
intelligent,  and,  if  he  is  industrious  and  observing,  he 
improves  daily.  Machinery  has  often  cut  wages  and 
thrown  workmen  out  of  employment,  but  immigra- 
tion has  displaced  thousands  of  clerks.  A  mechanic 
with  a  kit  of  tools  and  enough  money  to  hire  a  base- 
ment or  a  loft  may  start  on  his  own  account,  or  he 
may  work  at  home.  If  he  has  energy  and  makes 
friends,  he  will  have  little  trouble  to  get  along.  I 
believe  that  more  mechanics  than  clerks  own  their 
homes,  the}'  enjoy  more  comforts,  and  when  they  die 
they  leave  their  families  better  provided  for. 

Here  are  a  few  examples  of  boys  who  have  suc- 
ceeded in  trades.  A  New  England  mother  had  a  son 
who  threatened  to  become  wild.  A  friend  advised  put- 
ting him  in  a  machine-shop.  The  boy  in  time  became 
superintendent  and  finally  married  his  employer's 
daughter.  This  is  an  exceptional  case,  yet,  when  I 
see  scores  of  young  men  with  gifts  for  construc- 
tion and  for  administration,  slaving  at  office-work, 
I  feel  that  their  lives  have  been  failures.  A  Southern 
editor  had  a  son  who  shirked  study,  and  was  always 
visiting  workshops  and  factories  and  bringing  home 
sketches  of  machinery.     His  father,  finding  punish- 


86       JVhat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  fo)   a  Livinrj  ? 

meut  useless,  jjlacecl  him  at  seventeen  in  a  factory, 
where  he  was  paid  twenty-five  cents  a  day.  Five 
years  later  he  was  earning  $80  a  month  as  engineer 
on  a  sugar-plantation.  A  second  son  studied  short- 
hand for  two  years,  but  failed  to  succeed.  His  father 
then  bought  him  a  $20  printing-press  and  now  he  is 
established  as  a  printer.  Neither  of  these  boys  would 
have  earned  his  salt  in  a  profession  or  as  a  clerk.  A 
boy  on  a  Jersey  farm,  the  son  of  poor  parents,  stud- 
ied surveying  and  mapped  the  farm.  He  then  got  a 
place  with  Edison,  and  before  he  was  twenty-one  was 
sent  to  Mexico  to  set  up  an  electric-light  plant.  There 
are  scores  of  similar  cases. 

Of  course  a  boy  to  succeed  must  have  an  aptitude 
for  mechanics.  Gen.  F.  A.  Walker  said :  "  You  can 
no  more  make  a  first-class  dyer  or  a  first-class  ma- 
chinist in  one  generation  than  a  Cossack  horseman 
or  a  Tartar  herdsman.     Artisans  are  born,  not  made." 

But  how  shall  the  boy  with  a  fondness  for  tools  get 
started?  The  old  apprenticeship  system  has  dis- 
appeared. In  certain  trades  a  limited  number  of 
boys  are  admitted,  but  it  is  nobody's  concern  to  teach 
them,  and  they  make  slow  progress.  Horace  Greeley 
said :  "  To  make  an  editor  you  must  catch  him  young 
and  feed  him  on  printer's  ink."  Manual  dexterity 
can  only  be  acquired  in  youth.  Professor  Adler 
favors  giving  manual  training  in  the  kindergarten  and 
thus  preparing  the  boy  to  enter  at  once  on  his  trade. 
Before  long  we  may  hope  to  see  manual  instruction, 
instead  of  the  many  useless  things  now  in  the  curricu- 
lum, taught  in  the  public  schools.  If  a  boy  on  enter- 
ing a  shop  has  some  idea  of  the  nature  of  the  mate- 
rials used  and  of  the  natural  forces  which  operate  in 


What  Shall  Our  Boys;  Do  for  a  Living  ?        87 

treating  these  materials  to  convert  tliem  to  practical 
ends,  he  will  get  along  faster  than  if  he  lacks  such 
knowledge.     Hence  the  value  of  technical  training. 

The  superintendent  of  a  New  York  carriage-factory 
has  had  unusual  success  in  training  beginners.  He 
arranged  with  the  principal  of  a  public  school  to  send 
promising  boys  to  him.  They  were  set  at  piece-work, 
and  in  a  surprisingly  short  time  earned  good  pay  and 
became  serviceable.  Within  a  few  years  he  trained 
over  sixty  boys.  One  youth  of  eighteen  could  turn 
out  the  best  work  in  his  line  made  in  the  United 
States.  Unfortunately,  few  superintendents  possess 
this  talent.  A  man  engaged  in  directing  a  large  es- 
tablishment has  no  time  for  anything  else,  and,  be- 
sides, teaching  is  a  business  in  itself.  In  the  Hoe 
brothers'  printing-press  works  the  boys  are  taught 
systematically  in  night  classes.  Addison  B.  Burk 
states  that  in  smaller  towns  and  %dllages  in  Pennsyl- 
vania the  old-time  relations  of  the  apprentice  and 
master  continue.  The  workshops  of  large  cities  are 
largely  supplied  with  skilled  workmen  from  these 
places. 

Under  the  old  system  a  beginner  had  to  associate 
with  rough,  ill-bred,  and  often  vicious  boys,  who 
were  put  to  learn  a  trade  because  they  were  unfitted 
for  anything  else.  An  apprentice  had  to  clean  his 
master's  boots,  and,  though  he  sat  at  the  master's 
table,  he  often  did  not  have  enough  to  eat.  In  many 
trades  boys  used  to  do  nothing  but  dirty  work — 
cleaning,  sweeping,  or  hammering  the  rust  from  old 
iron.  Consequently  they  could  not  learn  anything 
for  a  year  or  more.  Now  that  machinery  has  short- 
ened so  many  mechanical  processes,  it  seems  unjust 


88       What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

that  beginners  should  waste  time  in  needless  drudgery. 
Yet  the  natural  desire  of  the  beginner  to  avoid  or  has- 
ten through  the  dirty-work  period  in  a  trade  is  op- 
posed by  masters  and  journeymen,  who  think  that 
every  one  should  pass  through  the  same  ordeal  as 
themselves. 

No  sensible  man  would  encourage  squeamishness 
or  a  fear  of  soiling  one's  fingers.  The  doctor,  the 
lawyer,  and  the  clergyman  perform  disagreeable  ser- 
vice, but  they  do  not  comi3lain.  So  the  trade-school 
graduate  should  be  willing  to  do  everything  needed 
to  qualifj-^  himself  for  his  calling.  Yet  to  say  that  a 
youth  should  waste  a  single  hour  in  mere  drudgery 
is  a  statement  born  only  of  prejudice  or  of  ignorance. 

Foreign  workmen,  especially  Germans,  have  better 
preparatory  training  than  Americans,  but  the}'  are 
less  versatile  and  are  apt  to  run  in  ruts.  John  La- 
farge  considers  that  a  first-class  American  mechanic 
has  no  superior. 

Complaint  is  made  in  most  trades  that  boys  will 
not  stay  long  enough  to  learn  anything.  A  boy  be- 
gins with,  say,  $4  a  week,  and  after  a  few  months  he 
suddenly  leiives  to  go  into  possibh^  an  entirely  differ- 
ent trade  for  the  sake  of  another  dollar  a  week.  As  a 
result  the  youth  becomes  a  "  half-baked"  workman. 

I  once  had  as  clerk  a  German-American  boy  of 
eighteen.  He  left  school  at  nine,  tended  a  shoe- 
dealer's  stand,  worked  in  a  laundry,  then  in  a  cigar- 
factory,  later  in  an  office,  and  then  as  assistant  stew- 
ard on  an  ocean  steamer.  He  never  earned  more  than 
$5  a  week  and  knew  absolutely  nothing.  When  set  to 
copy  a  type- written  letter  he  wrote  small  i's  instead  of 
capitals.     In  addressing  wrappers  to  leading  Ameri- 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      89 

can  cities  he  could  not  tell  what  States  they  were  in. 
It  is  melancholy  to  think  of  his  future,  as  he  was  unfit 
for  any  position  requiring  training  or  brains. 

I  would  strongly  advise  young  men  to  become 
plumbers,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  most  people  dis- 
parage the  trade.  This  is  because,  until  lately,  it 
has  been  monopolized  by  ignorant  bosses,  who  have 
brought  it  into  disrepute.  A  first-class  plumber  must 
understand  both  the  theory  and  practice  of  sanitary 
science.  He  ranks  with  a  machinist  or  engineer. 
Within  a  very  few  years  the  trade  has  been  revo- 
lutionized, and  there  is  a  growing  demand  in  all  parts 
of  the  country  for  capable  plumbers.  A  young  man 
who  is  master  of  the  trade  has  a  great  advantage  over 
the  ordinary,  ignorant,  unscrupulous  plumber,  and 
should  have  no  difficulty  in  getting  plenty  to  do. 
Not  only  is  there  a  steady  demand  for  new  buildings 
in  all  parts  of  the  country,  but  repairs  and  alterations 
are  also  going  on  continually,  and  the  plumbers  who 
can  give  satisfaction  to  customers  easily  succeed. 
One  of  them  once  told  me  he  had  not  lost  a  week's 
work  in  thirty  years.  He  said  there  were  four  men 
in  his  shop  who  received  fifty  cents  a  day  extra  be- 
cause they  could  follow  jjlans  and  specifications  cor- 
rectly, measure  and  order  exactly  what  materials  were 
needed,  were  able  to  explain  clearlj"  to  customers  just 
why  certain  things  should  be  done,  and  could  act  with 
discretion  in  emergencies.  Such  practical  sagacity 
and  "  gumption"  count  for  much.  The  timid  and  in- 
different workman  who  blindly  follows  orders  when 
he  knows  they  are  wrong  or  need  to  be  modified  is 
the  first  to  be  laid  off  when  work  is  slack. 

An  employer  speaks  of  the  difficulty  of  judging 


90       What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living? 

wLetlier  a  hoy  is  fitted  to  learn  a  trade.  He  describes 
two  apprentices  who  were  under  training.  One  was 
a  quiet,  studious,  good  boj^,  fond  of  reading,  of  a  neat 
appearance,  could  talk  correctly  about  the  business, 
yet  he  was  a  poor  workman.  After  his  time  was  out 
he  never  could  keep  a  job.  He  finally  went  into  an- 
other business  and  is  doing  well  at  it.  The  other 
was  always  in  mischief,  full  of  pranks,  continually 
being  complained  of,  but  when  he  received  a  kit  of 
tools  and  was  set  to  work  he  was  a  success.  He  was 
not  a  reader,  but  had  the  knack  of  seeing  into  things 
or  the  cheek  to  ask  about  what  he  didn't  know.  To- 
day he  is  a  good,  reliable  workman,  earning  good 
wages. 

In  "Chordal's  Letters"  a  similar  description  is 
given  of  the  difference  between  a  boy  made  of  putty 
and  one  with  brains.  "  I  was  in  the  office  of  a  certain 
engineer  the  other  day,  and  a  mutton-headed  boy, 
about  nineteen,  came  in.  He  was  a  machinist.  His 
father  owned  a  shop  and  "he  had  served  his  time  in  it. 
He  wanted  to  learn  to  '  draft, '  he  said.  His  father 
wanted  him  to  learn ;  he  wanted  to  learn  himself,  and 
his  father  would  pay  all  reasonable  bills.  Torrson, 
the  engineer,  began  to  catechise  him.  '  What  have 
you  ever  drawn?'  'Nothing!'  'What  have  you 
ever  wanted  to  draw?  '  '  Don't  know  as  I  ever  wanted 
to  draw  anything,  and  could  not  make  a  "  draft"  if  I 
wanted  to,  because  I  never  learned  how.'  '  That's  all 
right, '  said  Torrson,  'you  will  never  draught  anything, 
and  will  never  be  wanted  to.  I'll  see  your  father  this 
week.'  Torrson  turned  to  me  and  said  he  had  a 
dozen  such  fellows  to  deal  with  every  month,  and 
treated  them  all  the  same.     'But,'  said  he,   'when 


JVhai  SJki-U  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?       91 

some  greasy  boy  slips  in  here  and  pulls  out  some 
horribly  original  drawing,  and  asks  me  why  the  ink 
lines  run  when  he  puts  color  on,  or  how  a  fellow  is  to 
judge  good  India  ink,  or  how  this  thing  is  to  be  drawn 
so  another  can  understand  it,  then  I  quit  work  and 
stay  by  that  fellow,  and  place  my  time  and  library 
and  office  at  his  disposal." 

Law-schools  were  scouted  at  first,  but  no  one  now 
disputes  their  utility.  Some  practical  men  entertain 
the  same  prejudice  against  trade-schools  and  saj^: 
"  We  got  along  without  such  help.  Let  the  boys  of 
to-day  follow  in  our  footsteps."  But  they  do  not 
allow  for  changed  circumstances.  They  ridicule  the 
idea  of  being  taught  by  "theorists,"  but  fail  to  dis- 
tinguish between  the  teaching  of  principles  and  of 
practice.  During  the  civil  war  men  who  had 
commanded  clipper  ships  around  Cape  Horn  took 
lessons  in  navigation  from  the  daughter  of  an 
old  sea-captain  in  order  to  obtain  a  certificate  that 
would  entitle  them  to  command  a  government  trans- 
port. 

Teaching  is  a  specialty',  and  the  foreman  or  super- 
intendent usually  has  neither  time  nor  aptitude  for 
it.  He  has  learned  to  do  many  things  in  a  rule- 
of-thumb  way,  but  he  does  not  understand  the  scien- 
tific principles  which  underlie  and  regulate  his  work, 
and  ho  cannot  give  the  reasons  why  things  are  done 
in  a  certain  way. 

The  trade-school  does  not  pretend  to  teach  more 
than  the  rudiments ;  therefore,  if  possible,  it  should 
be  attached  to  a  business  establishment,  as  at  Wor- 
cester, Mass.,  where  the  pupil  can  enter  at  once  upon 
practical  work.     At  the  Baldwin  Locomotive  Worka 


92       IVJiat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

in  Philadelphia  the  pupils  from  the  Spring  Garden 
Institute  are  placed  under  an  older  workman.  A  boy 
with  six  months'  training  ranks  as  high  as  one  who 
has  had  a  year's  shop  practice. 

Manual  training  counteracts  the  narrowing  effect 
of  the  subdivision  of  labor,  which  confines  a  work- 
man to  one  thing  and  tends  to  make  him  a  mere  ma- 
chine. There  need  be  no  fear  that  it  will  spoil  young 
men.  A  smattering  of  book-learning  breeds  conceit, 
but  not  skill  with  tools.  As  Professor  Sweet  saj-s : 
"  The  workman  is  injured  by  scientific  training  when 
he  thinks  more  of  what  he  knows  than  of  how  to  ap- 
ply it.  It  is  the  little  knowledge  that  demoralizes." 
Gen.  Francis  Walker  says :  "  Manual  training  teaches 
accurac3%  thoroughness,  and  develops  character.  It 
trains  the  eye,  the  hand,  and  the  brain.  There  can 
be  no  cramming  in  a  trade-school.  WTiat  we  read  or 
hear  may  be  forgotten,  but  not  what  we  rfo." 

Every  Jewish  child  was  formerly  taught  some  in- 
dustry. Queen  Victoria  made  each  of  her  family 
learn  engraving,  painting,  or  needlework.  The  first 
Emperor  William  followed  the  same  course.  The 
late  Courtlandt  Palmer,  who  sent  two  of  his  childi*en 
to  a  trade-school  and  two  others  to  a  private  school, 
declared  that  the  former  made  more  rapid  progress. 

Manual  skill  breeds  self-respect.  In  Great  Britain 
an  artisan  may  sit  in  Parliament,  but  a  man-servant 
has  no  higher  ambition  than  to  keep  a  public  house. 
Thomas  Carlyle  spoke  with  reverence  of  the  bridge 
which  his  father,  the  stone-mason,  erected  at  Cro- 
marthy.  Among  the  New  Lebanon  Shakers  hand- 
work is  rated  as  high  as  head-work,  and  Elder  Fred- 
erick Evans  took  far  more  pride  in  a  substantial  wall 


TVhat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?       93 

and  a  well-pruned  orchard  than  in  his  books  and 
addresses. 

Carlvle  says :  "  A  man  is  a  tool-using  animal. " 
Everj^  boy  should  be  taught  to  do  something  with 
nature's  tools,  his  hands.  "Any  one  who  can  learn 
to  write  can  be  taught  to  di*aw,"  says  Prof.  Walter 
Smith,  and  drawing  is  the  basis  of  manual  education. 
Very  young  boys  can  be  trained  to  use  ordinary  tools, 
as  has  been  shown  at  the  Boston  Whittling  School. 

The  trade-schools  in  New  York,  Brooklyn,  Phila- 
delphia, Chicago,  and  other  cities  provide  practical 
training  in  carpentry,  bricklaying,  plumbing,  plas- 
tering, metal  and  sheet  cornice-work,  stone-cutting, 
fresco-painting,  decorating,  and  electrical  work.  Over 
six  thousand  young  men  have  attended  the  Xew  York 
trade-schools,  an  average  of  five  hundred  yearly. 
They  come  from  all  parts  of  the  United  States  and 
Canada.  Most  of  the  graduates  earn  good  wages.  A 
number  are  master-mechanics.  Manj'  of  the  pupils 
have  worked  in  shops  and  sought  to  improve  them- 
selves in  some  special  line.  They  make  rapid  prog- 
ress, because  thej'  know  just  what  they  want  to  learn. 
The  growth  of  the  school  is  the  best  proof  of  its  value. 

Mr.  Mundella  says  the  graduates  from  the  English 
technical  schools  surprise  their  friends  by  the  high 
wages  they  get.  One  young  man  earned  more  than 
his  father  and  two  brothers.  Dr.  Edward  Jarvis 
says :  "  Education  increases  the  value  of  the  common 
laborer  because  of  the  saving  in  super-v-ision.  The 
ignorant  man  merely  imitates  some  one  else  so  long 
as  he  is  watched,  but  he  makes  blunders  and  is  a 
great  tax  upon  capital."  To  set  a  $5  man  to  direct  a 
$2  man,  is  a  waste  of  time  and  brains.     The  edu- 


94       What  SJiall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

cated  workman  needs  little  supervision.  On  the  other 
hand  capable  men  are  kept  from  promotion  by  their 
inability  to  keep  accounts.  An  intelligent  mill-hand 
will  produce  more,  and  will  keep  his  machine  in  bet- 
ter condition,  than  an  ignorant  one.  He  is  also  less 
inclined  to  intemperance.  By  the  testimony  of  work- 
men themselves  increased  skill  and  aptitude  come 
from  education,  and  the  superior  workman  performs 
his  work  with  less  labor  than  his  fellows." 

It  is  not  wise  to  tempt  students  by  easy  lessons. 
If  technical  courses  are  to  be  useful  they  must  be 
thorough.  Professor  Baraflf  says :  "  It  is  useless  for 
a  person  who  knows  a  little  chemistry  or  a  little  elec- 
tricity or  a  little  mathematics  or  mechanics  to  at- 
tempt to  apply  his  knowledge  to  practical  purposes." 
The  youth  who  has  worked  in  one  shop  only  will  ap- 
preciate his  ignorance  when  placed  in  a  larger  estab- 
lishment, and  still  more  when  placed  in  the  technical 
school  where  all  varieties  of  work  are  explained  by 
competent  instructors. 

Not  every  one  has  sufficient  resolution  to  sit  down 
to  his  books  after  a  hard  day's  work.  Few  persons 
also  can  study  alone.  They  need  the  stimulus  which 
comes  from  contact  with  other  students  and  also  the 
guidance  of  a  trained  teacher.  Many  mechanics  have 
been  greatly  benefited  by  taking  the  course  of  the 
Correspondence  School  at  Scranton,  which  seems  to 
be  an  admirable  institution. 

Not  every  apprentice  becomes  a  skilled  workman. 
No  more  does  every  clerk  become  an  Astor  or  a 
Stewart,  or  every  law-student  an  Evarts  or  a  Choate. 
But  that  is  no  reason  why  manual  labor  should  be 
condemned. 


WJiat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livimj  ?        95 

Piece-work  is  often  a  drawback  to  a  boy.  His  em- 
ployer is  benefited,  but  the  boy  learns  little,  and  has 
no  hope  of  advancement.  This  leads  many  boys  after 
being  a  j-ear  or  so  in  a  shop  to  seek  work  elsewhere. 

In  trades  requiring  artistic  talent,  like  cabinet-mak- 
ing, wood-carving,  and  lithograi)hy,  foreign  workmen 
take  the  lead,  while  in  railroading,  the  machinist's 
trade,  and  plumbing,  native  Americans  succeed. 

What  is  especially  wanted  to  promote  our  indus- 
trial future  is  to  multiply  the  number  of  trained  fore- 
men and  superintendents.  A  good  general  can  make 
an  arm}'  out  of  almost  any  material.  So  with  proper 
superintendence  a  factory  or  a  shop  will  turn  out  a 
far  higher  quality  of  work  than  without  it. 

A  young  man  aspiring  to  be  a  mechanic  should 
ask  himself :  Do  I  honesth'  and  sincerely  want  to  be 
a  good  workman  and  a  credit  to  my  trade  and  to  my 
friends,  or  am  I  seeking  only  to  make  a  living  iu  the 
easiest  and  shortest  manner?  As  Caleb  Garth  says 
in  "  Middlemarch" :  "  You  must  be  sure  of  two  things : 
You  must  love  your  work,  and  not  always  be  looking 
over  the  edge  of  it,  wanting  your  play  to  begin;  and 
the  other  is :  You  must  not  be  ashamed  of  your  work 
and  think  it  would  be  more  honorable  for  you  to  be 
doing  something  else." 

The  technical  trade- journals  supply  a  fund  of  in- 
formation. They  are  found  in  every  workshop  and 
in  thousands  of  homes.  Their  efi'ect  in  stimulating 
study  and  imparting  new  ideas  is  great  and  whole- 
some. Such  journals  as  The  Scioitific  America)),  The 
Ame)'ica)i  Machhiist,  The  Metal  Wor'ker,  Ca)-penter 
and  Builder,  The  h'on  Age,  Tlie  Raihcay  Gazette,  TJie 
Shoe  a))d  Leather  Bepo)'tcr,  The  Huh,  Tlie  A)))e)ican 


96       What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

Builder,  not  to  mention  others,  exert  a  potent  and 
widespread  influence.  It  is  difficult  to  bring  to- 
gether the  members  of  a  certain  trade  for  mutual 
intercourse  and  discussion,  even  in  a  metropolis  like 
Paris,  London,  or  New  York.  The  technical  journal, 
however,  like  the  telegraph,  annihilates  space  and 
time,  and  joins  the  most  distant  individuals  into  a 
cohesive  whole.  The  isolated  artisan  in  some  factory 
town  or  Aallage,  who  reads  the  trade-journals,  feels 
himself  linked  by  sympathy  and  self-interest  with  his 
fellow-craftsmen.  The  researches  of  investigators  in 
special  lines  are  brought  to  the  attention  of  those 
most  interested  in  them.  The  columns  of  these  jour- 
nals supply  a  vehicle  for  discussion  and  for  advanc- 
ing knowledge  in  every  department  of  progress. 
They  have  become  the  only  substitute  for  the  ancient 
guilds.  The  same  benefits  which  accrue  from  jour- 
nals like  Nature  and  Art  have  resulted  from  the  tech- 
nical and  trade  journals.  The  fact  that  they  are  so 
widely  read  and  quoted  is  a  proof  of  their  value. 

In  "Chordal's  Letters"  there  are  some  sensible  re- 
marks for  mechanics  on  the  subject  of  reading. 
"What  books  should  machinists  read?  This  ques- 
tion is  asked  of  some  one  supposed  to  know,  about  a 
thousand  times  a  year.  Mechanics,  as  a  general 
thing,  are  pretty  well  advanced  in  years  when  they 
want  these  books.  They  can't  comprehend  anything 
fine  or  deep  or  analytical,  and  cannot  spend  time  to 
attain  the  necessary  elementary  book-knowledge. 
They  despise  a  book  which  treats  them  as  childi'en. 
Walker  is  a  carpenter,  and  is  patronizingly  urged  to 
go  to  the  library  and  read  up  his  trade  and  rise  in 
the  world.     He  knows  nothing  of  books,  and  takes 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?       97 

the  first  one  with  carpentry  on  the  back  of  it,  say, 
'  Constructive  Carpentry  Practically  Considered. '  He 
could  not  define  the  title  to  save  his  neck,  but  pro- 
ceeds to  look  into  it.  He  finds  many  demonstrations 
and  geometrical  diagrams,  but  he  can't  get  into  sym- 
Ijathy  with  the  thing;  says  the  author's  a  fool  who 
couldn't  shove  a  saw,  and  he  puts  the  book  away. 
He  takes  another,  the  'Complete  Carpenter.'  On  the 
first  page  he  sees  a  villanous  cut  of  a  saw,  and  he 
reads :  '  This  is  a  hand-saw  used  by  carpenters  to  cut 
off  boards.  It  has  teeth  upon  one  edge.  These  teeth 
are  about  one-eighth  of  an  inch  apart,  and  are  bent 
alternately,  slightly  to  the  right  and  left.  This  bend- 
ing is  termed  "set,"  '  etc.  He  puts  this  book  away 
in  disgust,  and  says,  'The  author  thinks  I  am  a  fool 
who  can't  file  a  saw.'  Walker  won't  read  one  book 
and  can't  read  the  other.  The  book  for  him  must 
be  tailor-made,  and  must  fit  him  exactly  or  he  can't 
get  any  good  out  of  it. 

"The  thing  is  a  problem,  but  there  is  one  good 
thing  about  it.  A  thirst  for  knowledge  will  find  its 
own  means  of  satisfaction,  and  this  thirst  will  never 
come  upon  a  man  in  middle  life.  There  is  no  boy  so 
circumstanced  in  this  whole  land  that  a  thirst  for 
technical  knowledge  will  not  in  a  wa}'  develop  and 
gratify  itself  before  he  is  twenty.  If  there  is  any- 
thing in  him,  he  will  have  formed  an  acquaintance- 
ship with  books  in  general,  and  need  ask  no  questions 
relating  to  general  direction  of  study.  If  such  an  ac- 
quaintanceship has  not  been  formed,  friends  need 
hardly  regret  being  unable  to  suggest  a  proper  path 
of  study.  Of  course,  such  reading  is  mostly  done 
and  mostlv  appreciated  bv  the  young  chappies  who 


08       IVhat  Shall  Our  Boya  Do  for  a  Liviufj  ? 

are  priming  for  the  future.  If  owners  of  shops  will 
keep  one  eye  open  for  such  tendencies,  they  will  find 
it  an  excellent  index  to  character  and  a  pointer  toward 
an  excellent  plan  of  encouragement  which  will  repay 
tenfold." 


CHAPTEK  XV. 

SHALL  1  GO  TO  COLLEGE? 

Sharpen  Your  Tools— Advantages  of  College  Training— In- 
creasing Attendance  at  Colleges— The  Money  Cost — Paying 
One's  Way — Large  or  Small  Colleges? — Temptations  and  Dan- 
gers— Social  Benefits — Classical  Study — Both  Sides  of  the  Col- 
lege Question. 

To  DO  anything  in  this  world  one  needs  tools. 
Providence  has  provided  these  in  the  shape  of  hands 
and  brains.  A  college  is  one  of  the  places  to  sharpen 
them.  As  knowledge  is  power,  seek  the  place  where 
it  is  supplied.  It  is  not  the  question  whether  they 
do  this  at  college  as  well  as  they  might,  but  whether 
the  same  results  can  be  obtained  elsewhere.  A  sol- 
dier would  not  be  content  with  a  tomahawk  or  club, 
if  he  could  have  a  breech-loader.  Why  enter  the  bat- 
tle of  life  half  armed? 

A  college  student  may  be  lazy  or  extravagant,  but 
it  is  his  own  fault  if  he  does  not  gain  knowledge  and 
drill.  Ask  a  farmer  what  sort  of  an  orchard  he  would 
have  if  he  did  not  prune  his  trees?  Half  the  failures 
of  life  come  from  lack  of  early  training.  Discipline 
has  saved  many  a  rich,  luxuriant  nature  from  ruin. 
It  is  discipline  that  distinguishes  an  army  from  a 
mob.  A  wooden  wedge  will  split  a  log,  but  a  dia- 
mond-tipped drill  will  penetrate  rock.  Education 
puts  the  diamond  tip  to  the  drill. 

It  will  be  asked :  Why  go  through  college  and  waste 


lUO     lyiiat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living? 

time  on  studies  whicli  may  not  be  of  direct  utility? 
Why  not  at  once  enter  a  law  or  medical  school  and 
begin  professional  studies?  General  culture  is  the 
basis  of  special  study.  It  gives  a  broader  founda- 
tion to  build  on,  and  has  a  liberalizing  effect  on  the 
mind.  John  Stuart  Mill  in  his  famous  address  at 
Edinburgh  said :  "  Men  are  men  before  they  are  law- 
yers or  physicians  or  merchants  or  manufacturers, 
and  if  jou  make  them  cajjable  men  they  will  become 
good  lawyers  and  physicians."  Again  Mr.  IVIill,  in 
discussing  whether  one  should  study  the  classics  or 
modern  languages,  asked,  "  Why  not  both?"  And  so 
when  the  question  is  put  to  me,  "  Shall  I  go  to  college?" 
I  answer:  TVTiy  not  take  advantage  of  all  available 
opportunities  for  making  a  good  start  in  life? 

The  mass  of  college  graduates  take  high  positions 
in  the  business,  social,  and  political  world.  Mr. 
Goschen,  when  asked  what  becomes  in  after-life  of 
senior  wranglers  and  first-class  men,  replied :  "  Eight 
of  them  are  at  this  moment  in  Her  Majestj^'s  Cabinet. " 
Those  who  do  not  gain  eminence  fail  not  because  of 
their  college  course,  but  in  spite  of  it.  Most  men  who 
have  been  deprived  of  such  training  en\y  those  who 
have  gone  to  college,  and  wish  they  had  taken  a  uni- 
versity course.  It  is  a  popular  fallacy  that  self-made 
men  have  taken  the  lead  in  this  country.  Of  our 
Presidents,  Washington,  Jackson,  Yan  Buren,  Harri- 
son, Taylor,  Fillmore,  Lincoln,  Johnson,  and  Cleve- 
land never  went  to  college.  On  the  other  hand,  Grant 
was  educated  at  West  Point,  the  two  Adamses  at  Har- 
vard, Jefferson,  Monroe,  and  Tyler  at  William  and 
Mary,  Madison  at  Princeton,  Polk  at  the  University 
of  North  Carolina,  Pierce  at  Bowdoin,  Buchanan  at 


What  SluiU  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  LiviiKj  ?     101 

Dickinson,  Haves  at  Kenyon,  Garfield  at  Williams, 
and  Ai'tbur  at  Columbia.  The  list  of  fifty -three  fa- 
mous Massachusetts  men  inscribed  on  the  dome  of 
the  Boston  state-house  contains  seventy-two  per  cent 
of  college  graduates.  Among  them  is  Morse,  the 
inventor  of  the  telegraph. 

It  is  claimed  to  be  an  advantage  for  the  student  to 
be  set  apart  from  the  world  for  a  term  of  years  which 
is  consecrated  to  a  general  and  broadening  educa- 
tion. The  college  is  a  little  world  in  itself,  and 
through  the  press  and  in  other  ways  the  student  is 
kept  in  touch  with  current  affairs.  T\Tiile  his  mind 
is  not  distracted  or  wasted  on  trifles,  and  he  can  con- 
centrate all  his  thought  on  attaining  culture  and  use- 
ful knowledge,  he  does  not  abide  in  cloistered  seclu- 
sion and  learned  ease.  When  he  graduates  he  is  not 
expected  to  know  much  that  is  of  immediate  practi- 
cal utility,  but  to  have  been  taught  how  to  learn  and 
to  have  had  his  mind  strengthened  and  broadened  by 
a  liberal  course  of  study.  Hence  he  is  able  to  master 
quickly  the  technical  details  of  any  profession  or  oc- 
cupation, and  in  a  short  time  to  catch  up  with  and 
surpass  the  man  who  has  not  been  taught  how  to  study. 

When  so-called  "practical"  men  criticise  college 
education  they  forget  the  purjjose  of  training.  It  is 
as  if  they  ranked  the  wood-cutter  above  the  all-round 
athlete  who  can  outdo  a  trio  of  wood-choppers  as  soon 
as  he  is  given  an  axe.  His  mental  capacity  is  like 
the  power  of  steam  or  electricity,  which  is  not  con- 
fined to  running  one  kind  of  engine  but  is  applicable 
to  any  mechanical  appliance.  The  untrained  man 
makes  one  think  of  Niagara  going  to  waste,  or  only 
half  utilized ;  or  of  a  toam  of  horses  laboring  through 


'M'    ■Whcif^fiaUOHr  Boijs  Do  for  a  Living? 

mild  and  mire  with  a  trifling  load  when  they  might 
haul  tons  upon  a  Telford  pavement. 

Swami  Vivikananda,  in  his  thoughtful  book,  "  Kar- 
ma Yoga,"  "The  Secret  of  Work,"  happily  observes: 
"  What  a  man  learns  is  really  what  he  discovers.  He 
takes  the  cover  off  his  own  soul,  which  is  a  mine  of 
infinite  knowledge.  The  external  world  supplies  sug- 
gestions, but  the  object  of  your  stud}'  is  alwaj's  your 
own  mind.  Knowledge  exists  in  the  mind  like  fire 
in  a  piece  of  flint.  Experience  is  the  friction  that 
brings  it  out." 

Harvey  E.  Fisk,  the  banker,  in  an  admirable  ar- 
ticle in  TJie  Outlook,  on  "The  Value  of  a  College 
Education  to  a  Business  Man,"  remarks: 

"  I  am  a  great  believer  in  laying  deep,  broad,  sub- 
stantial foundations  for  all  undertakings  in  life.  .  .  . 
If  a  boy  intends  to  become  something  more  than  an 
under-clerk  or  a  small  tradesman,  he  will  need  the 
best  preliminary  education  that  his  parents  can  afford 
to  give  him. 

"In  the  early  stage  of  his  career  in  business  a 
young  man  will  not  appreciate  what  he  has  missed 
by  not  going  to  college.  Assuming  that  he  entered 
an  office  or  a  store  at  seventeen,  and  that  his  friend 
entered  college  at  the  same  age,  he  will  feel  at  twenty- 
one  greatly  the  superior  of  his  friend  in  business  abil- 
ity. But  five  or  ten  years  later  the  one  who  had  the 
college  training  will  probably  be  found  to  be  working 
more  easily,  with  greater  confidence,  and  with  exactly 
as  much  success  as  the  friend  who  had  four  years 
the  start — if  not  greater.  A  college  education  will 
strengthen  all  your  faculties,  and,  rightlj^  used,  will 
be  a  blessing  all  through  life." 


What  Shall  Otrr  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      103 

The  attendance  at  American  colleges  is  steadily  in- 
creasing, notwithstanding  that  the  standard  of  admis- 
sion is  continually  rising.  The  intellectual  equipment 
of  the  colleges  is  enlarging ;  there  are  more  and  higher- 
paid  professors  and  larger  laboratories.  Hundreds 
of  post-graduate  students  attend  advanced  courses  of 
study  at  Columbia  and  Johns  Hopkins  universities. 
Thousands  of  students  of  both  sexes  attend  the  "  fresh 
water"  colleges  and  State  institutions  which  do  not 
attract  much  attention  from  the  public,  yet  whose  in- 
fluence is  wide-felt  and  growing.  Young  America  is 
evidently  convinced  that  college  training  pays.  The 
Outlook  remarks  that  a  kind  of  enthusiasm  for  higher- 
education  seems  to  be  spreading,  especially  in  the 
West.  Never  before  has  there  been  such  a  host  of 
young  men  and  young  women  pursuing  advanced 
courses  of  study. 

The  craze  for  athletics  is  dying  out,  and,  while  cer- 
tain students  are  attracted  to  colleges  where  athletics 
are  specially  cultivated,  yet  most  parents  give  a 
preference  to  institutions  where  study  receives  chief 
attention. 

In  America  about  twenty-five  thousand  high-school 
pupils  and  twenty  thousand  from  private  schools,  or 
one  in  six  of  the  total  attendance,  prepare  for  college. 
In  the  ten  years  following  the  Franco-Prussian  war 
the  students  in  German  universities  increased  from 
fifteen  thousand  to  twentj^-four  thousand.  A  similar 
advance  occurred  in  American  colleges  after  the  Civil 
War.  Very  curiously  the  attendance  increases  in  dull 
times.  Enforced  idleness  leads  men  to  study  to  ac- 
quire additional  skill.  This  applies  particularly  to 
the   professional  and  technical   schools  which  pre- 


104     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

pare  men  to  enter  at  once  upon  a  solf-suj)porting  ex- 
istence. 

West  of  tlie  Alleglianies  a  college  education  is  ac- 
cessible to  all  classes.  In  most  of  the  State  universi- 
ties the  tuition  fees  are  practically  nil.  In  Kansas, 
for  example,  board  and  room  can  be  had  for  $12  a 
month ;  the  college  fees  are  $5  a  year,  while  the  aver- 
age expenditure  of  the  students  does  not  exceed  $200 
per  annum.  In  Eastern  colleges  the  expenses  have 
grown  steadily.  The  fees  at  Yale  have  increased  in 
forty  years  from  $60  to  $155,  and  the  "  ordinary  an- 
nual expenditures"  have  risen  in  a  like  ratio. 

At  Harvard  President  Eliot  thinks  $499  the  small- 
est sum  that  could  be  expended,  $615  is  economical, 
$830  moderate,  and  $1,365  ample.  Most  students 
spend  between  $650  and  $850.  At  Yale  the  average 
expenses  for  the  freshman  year  are  $912 ;  sophomore 
year,  $942;  and  senior  year,  $1,032.  The  lowest 
amount  mentioned  was  $100;  tho  highest,  $5,000. 
The  Springfield  Repuhlican  remarks :  "  The  cost  of  a 
college  course  is  getting  to  be  something  fearful,  at 
least  to  that  class  who  have  in  former  years  sent  the 
best  material,  who  know  the  value  of  an  education  for 
their  sons,  and  the  value  of  a  dollar."  If  the  West 
follows  the  example  of  Yale  and  Harvard  the  time  is 
quickly  passing  when  we  can  say  with  Mr.  Bryce  that 
"  it  is  the  glory  of  American  universities,  as  of  ihose 
of  Scotland  and  Germany,  that  they  are  freely  acces- 
sible to  all  classes  of  the  people. " 

Many  students  support  themselves  wholly  or  in 
part  by  farm-work,  the  care  of  private  grounds  and 
houses,  waiting  at  table  in  summer  hotels,  getting  sub- 
scriptions to  periodicals,  managing  boarding-clubs. 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?     105 

assisting  in  the  scientific  departments,  teaching  at  odd 
hours,  writing  shorthand,  newspaper  work,  choir-sing- 
ing, or  organ-playing.  Such  opportunities  are  rare 
and  can  only  be  picked  up  after  a  man  has  made 
some  friends.  Every  student  should  therefore  have 
enough  funds  to  carry  him  through  his  fii'st  term. 
No  one  should  try  to  work  his  way  through  college 
unless  he  is  forced  to  do  it,  has  good  health,  and 
great  energy  and  perseverance.  If  he  does  attempt 
to  do  so  he  should  expect  to  take  a  longer  time  than 
usual  to  complete  his  course. 

Every  large  college  offers  free  scholarships  to  stu- 
dents of  exceptional  ability.  At  Cornell  there  are 
eighteen  scholarshij^s  of  $200,  beside  thirty-four 
graduate  scholarships,  some  of  $300,  some  of  $400; 
and  several  $500  fellowships,  in  addition  to  the  State 
scholarships. 

It  is  not  wise  to  assist  everj'  young  man  to  get  an 
education.  Many  an  ambitious  but  incapable  youth 
has  been  tempted  to  study  for  a  profession  simply 
because  he  was  promised  free  tuition.  Such  help 
should  only  be  given  to  those  manifesting  exceptional 
capacity.  An  able  writer  remarks:  "  The  country  is 
full  of  incompetent  and  disappointed  professional 
men,  who  might  have  been  excellent  masons  or  team- 
drivers,  and  nothing  but  rigid  examinations  for  open 
scholarshii)s  will  diminish  the  number.  It  is  often 
urged  that  this  will  compel  some  genius  to  hide  his 
talent  in  a  napkin,  but  it  is  better  to  have  a  genius 
now  and  then  miss  an  opportunity  than  to  hear  the 
wails  and  howls  of  the  incompetent,  in  the  market- 
place, from  day  to  day." 

Tlie  Churchman  says  the  large  college  is  more  an 


106     JVhat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  fm-  a  Livimj  ? 

image  of  the  v.'orld,  but  it  asks,  is  the  world  the  best 
model  for  a  university?  Discipliue  is  more  easily 
evaded  iu  a  large  college,  and  iudividuality  may  be 
lost.  The  large  college  ofteu  imparts  i)rematurity  in 
the  experience  of  life,  with  immaturity  in  far  more 
essential  elements  of  education.  Dartmouth  is  a 
small  college,  but  it  gave  us  Daniel  Webster  and 
Eufus  Choate.  Little  Bowdoin  made  for  herself  an 
everlasting  name  with  that  memorable  class  of  1825 — 
Longfellow,  Hawthorne,  John  S.  C.  Abbott,  and 
George  B.  Cheever.  President  Smith  of  Trinity 
cites  the  graduates  of  Kenyon  College  as  showing 
what  a  small  institution  can  do.  Among  them  were 
President  Hayes,  Secretary  Stanton,  Judge  David 
Davis,  Justice  Stanley  Matthews,  Bishop  Wilmer, 
and  Henry  Winter  Davis. 

Li  an  article  in  the  North  American  Review,  Rossiter 
Johnson  remarks  that  the  small  colleges  are  breaking 
down  sectarian  prejudice.  Nearly  every  one  of  our 
colleges  is  controlled  by  some  religious  denomina- 
tion. If  it  drew  its  students  mainly  from  that  de- 
nomination they  might  become  bigotedly  sectarian. 
When  it  draws  them  from  all  denominations  the  ten- 
dency  is  toward  liberalism,  and  the  students  acquire 
a  breadth  of  mind  which  they  would  never  otherwise 
obtain.  Mr.  Johnson  adds  that  while  formerly  the 
mass  of  college  men  entered  the  learned  professions, 
now  numbers  of  graduates  follow  business,  manufac- 
turing, or  agriculture.  This  cannot  but  have  the  hap- 
piest effect  upon  the  community.  As  the  intelligence 
and  scholarship  of  clients,  parishioners,  patients,  and 
readers  are  increased,  the  lawyers,  clergymen,  phy- 
sicians, and  writers  are  necessarilj'  driven  to  a  higher 


What  Shall  Oar  Boys  Do  for  a  Living?      107 

standard  of  culture.  He  therefore  prefers  the  small 
colleges  because  of  the  better  opportunity  for  per- 
sonal acquaintance  and  of  direct  contact  with  i)rofes- 
sors  who  can  exert  an  inspiring  and  shaping  influence 
upon  young  men  at  the  most  susceptible  age.  Yet, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  prestige  which  is  gained  from 
being  a  Harvard  or  Yale  graduate  is  worth  a  great 
deal  to  any  one,  especially  to  a  professional  man.  It 
is  like  the  hall-mark  on  sterling  silver,  a  sort  of 
official  stamp  to  show  that  a  man  is  a  scholar  and  a 
gentleman, 

A  writer  in  The  Nation  divides  college  students  into 
three  classes :  First,  those  who  love  learning  and  seek 
knowledge  at  any  sacrifice ;  second,  those  who  simply 
want  to  get  a  degree,  with  a  respectable  class  stand- 
ing, without  annoyance  or  disappointment  to  their 
parents,  but  who  are  not  specially  zealous  or  indus- 
trious; last  of  all,  there  are  the  regular  idlers  and 
dunces  and  scapegraces,  who  are  the  affliction  of  fam- 
ilies and  the  despair  of  professors  and  deans.  The 
last  two  classes  make  up  seventy  per  cent  of  the 
undergraduates  of  every  large  college. 

The  Bavarian  minister  of  piiblic  instruction  has 
officially  protested  against  the  young  men  with  no 
taste  for  learning,  who  crowd  the  gymnasium  for  the 
social  advantages  it  gives,  and  for  its  aid  in  entering 
the  military  or  civil  service,  and  who  in  consequence 
(jf  their  failure  to  graduate  become  intellectually  crip- 
pled and  a  public  calamity. 

In  the  early  days  of  Yale  Professor  Sillimau  re- 
proved "  Chevalier"  Wycoif  for  having  a  carpet  and 
paper-hangings  in  his  room,  remarking  that  "  all  this 
love  of  externals  argues  indifference  to  the  more  neces- 


108      JVhaf  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livimj  ? 

sary  furniture  of  your  brain,  which  is  your  spiritual 
business  here."  Up  to  1842  all  students  ate  in  com- 
mons, drinking  in  turn  from  the  cider-pitcher.  The 
poor  students  waited  on  the  table.  The  fare  was  so 
bad  at  times  that  on  two  occasions  the  students  rose 
in  "  bread-and-butter"  rebellion.  Such  things  would 
not  now  be  tolerated.  College  expenses  have  greatly 
increased,  and  the  accommodations  are  luxurious  in 
comparison  with  the  jDast.  Modern  buildings  have 
replaced  the  damp  and  unwholesome  dormitories, 
and  the  poorest  student  now  fares  better  than  the 
best  in  earlier  days. 

In  regard  to  college  morality,  those  best  competent 
to  judge  insist  that  there  has  been  a  steady  improve- 
ment. There  is  now  very  little  vice  and  dissipation. 
The  students  spend  more  money  than  formerly,  but 
in  a  more  refined  way.  Their  rooms  are  tastefully 
furnished.  They  patronize  clubs  and  athletics,  and 
pay  liberally  for  social  enjoyments,  but  drinking  is 
less  common  than  in  earlier  days,  and  gambling  is 
confined  to  the  fast  set,  always  a  minority.  Never- 
thelei3S,  it  is  a  serious  problem  to  consider  what  must 
be  the  effect  on  a  weak  or  lax  youth  when  di'opped 
into  a  little  world  containing  a  thousand  students. 
The  fact  that  translations  of  the  classics  known  as 
"ponies,"  though  forbidden  by  the  authorities,  are 
generally  used  in  many  colleges,  is  not  creditable  to 
the  sense  of  honor  of  the  students.  Therefore  do  not 
send  your  hoj  to  college  unless  he  can  stand  alone 
and  resist  temptation.  To  be  pushed  out  of  the  par- 
ent nest  and  forced  to  fly  before  the  wings  are  fully 
fledged  and  strong,  may  result  in  disaster. 

Walter  Bagehot  says:    "In  youth  the  real  plastic 


JVhat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      109 

energy  is  not  in  tutors  or  lectures  or  in  books  'got 
up, '  but  in  Homer  and  Plutarch ;  in  the  books  that 
all  read  because  all  are  interested ;  in  the  argumen- 
tative walk  or  disputatious  lounge ;  in  the  impact  of 
3'oung  thought,  of  fresh  thought  on  fresh  thought,  of 
hot  thought  on  hot  thought;  in  mirth  and  refutation, 
in  ridicule  and  laughter,  for  these  are  the  free  play  of 
the  natural  mind."  Carlyle  called  a  library  "a  uni- 
versity," but  it  is  the  close  contact  with  fellow-stu- 
dents in  varied  relations  that  exerts  the  strongest 
influence  on  the  mass  of  students.  "  Man  made  the 
college,  but  God  made  the  playground,"  said  Bage- 
hot,  who  usually  hits  the  mark.  Emerson  sums  up 
the  matter  in  his  calm  and  lucid  manner:  "To  a 
brave  soul  it  really  seems  indifferent  whether  its  tui- 
tion is  in  or  out  of  college.  And  yet  I  confess  to  a 
sti'ong  bias  in  favor  of  college.  I  think  we  cannot 
give  ourselves  too  many  advantages,  and  he  that  goes 
to  Cambridge  has  the  best  of  that  kind.  WTieu  he 
has  seen  their  little  all,  he  will  rate  it  very  moder- 
ately beside  that  which  he  brought  thither.  There 
are  many  things  much  better  than  a  college — an  ex- 
ploring expedition  if  one  could  join  it,  or  the  living 
with  any  great  master  in  one's  proper  art;  but  in  the 
common  run  of  opportunities  and  with  no  more  than 
the  common  proportion  of  energy  in  ourselves,  a  col- 
lege is  safest  from  its  literary  tone  and  from  the  ac- 
cess to  books  it  gives ;  mainly  that  it  introduces  you 
to  the  best  of  your  contemporaries." 

N.  P.  Willis'  experience  at  Yale  "brought  him 
into  the  suashine  and  changed  the  homely  school- 
boy chrysalis  into  a  butterfly  of  uncommon  splendor 
and  spread  of  wing."     This  phrase  well  describes 


110     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a,  Living  ? 

what  college  training  has  done  for  thousands  of 
young  men.  Dr.  Bushnell  went  to  Yale  a  clumsy 
lout  and  in  two  years  was  transformed  into  a  gentle- 
man. As  the  best  polish  for  diamonds  is  their  own 
dust,  and  as  clothespins  make  each  other  smooth,  so 
the  friction  of  mind  on  mind  transforms  the  youth 
into  a  man.  William  Pitt  had  few  college  compan- 
ions, took  no  pai*t  in  athletics,  but  studied  hard  under 
a  private  tutor,  kept  aloof  from  society-,  and  was  con- 
sequently reserved,  shy,  and  stiff.  He  thus  missed 
much  good-fellowsliip  and  never  had  the  conceit  taken 
out  of  him,  as  happens  to  most  young  men.  But,  as 
Bagehot  says,  "Pitt  was  a  genius  and  destined  to 
perform  a  task  wliich  required  all  possible  self-confi- 
dence and  personal  pride,  and  it  would  have  been  no 
benefit  to  have  curbed  his  great  force  of  character." 

While  every  student  should  strive  to  make  a  good 
record,  yet  it  is  well  not  to  place  too  much  value 
upon  school  honors.  Eeal  ability  is  not  to  be  meas- 
ured by  such  tests.  Robert  E.  Lee  was  the  only 
great  soldier  of  the  rebellion  who  graduated  from 
West  Point  at  the  head  of  his  class. 

Charles  Francis  Adams  complains  that  he  wasted 
a  great  deal  of  time  trying  to  learn  Greek.  He  thinks 
the  notion  that  it  is  mental  discipline  is  a  delusion, 
and  that  modern  languages  furnish  a  better  equip- 
ment for  the  work  of  life  and  just  as  valuable  intel- 
lectual training.  The  ^^ation  answered  Mr.  Adams' 
arguments  by  stating  that  seven-tenths  of  the  stu- 
dents in  the  large  colleges  have  no  real  love  of  learn- 
ing, and  the  other  fraction  "  get  out  of  the  classics  all 
that  it  would  be  possible  for  them  to  get  out  of  any 
study."     The  great  difficulty  of  colleges  is  not  the 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Liviufj  ?      Ill 

difficult}^  of  selectiug  the  right  kind  of  knowledge  to 
offer,  but  the  difficulty  of  getting  the  young  men  to 
acquire  it.  It  cannot  be  driven  into  them  by  main 
force. 

Most  of  the  older  American  colleges  were  designed 
to  fit  men  for  the  ministry,  and  Greek  was  esteemed 
of  prime  impoi-tance.  Now  that  but  few  of  the  grad- 
uates study  theology,  it  is  maintained  that  Greek 
should  be  taught  in  special  schools,  and  that  the  gen- 
eral student  should  receive  the  best  all-round  training, 
which  wiU  make  him  observe  correctly,  reason  logi- 
cally, and  express  himself  with  x^recision  and  elegance. 
This  can  best  be  accomplished  by  the  study  of  the 
physical  sciences,  logic,  and  literature,  with  practice 
in  writing  and  debating.  In  short,  Latin  and  Greek 
should  be  treated  like  any  other  special  course  and 
not  be  made  compulsory.  If,  as  it  is  claimed,  the 
study  of  the  classics  is  such  an  aid  to  the  master}^  of 
English,  it  is  strange  that  young  men  who  enter  col- 
lege after  several  years'  drill  in  Latin  and  Greek  fail 
to  write  correctly  their  native  tongue. 

A  distinction  must  be  made  between  scholars  who 
are  masters  of  Greek  and  Latin  and  those  who  have  a 
superficial  knowledge  of  the  ancient  tongues.  It  is 
assuming  too  much  to  say  that  the  slight  knowledge 
of  the  classics  acquired  by  the  average  college  gradu- 
ate has  been  the  chief  influence  in  developing  his 
mind. 

Herbert  Spencer  and  Lincoln  learned  to  think  pro- 
foundly and  express  themselves  clearly  without  the 
aid  of  Latin  and  Greek.  John  Bright,  Beecher,  and 
Spurgeon  did  not  learn  eloquence  from  Demosthenes 
or  Cicero.     Daniel  Webster  gained  distinction  as  an 


112      WJuit  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

orator  wheu  lie  bega.u  to  prune  his  speecli  of  Latin- 
isms  and  to  use  his  mother  tongue.  Dr.  Johnson 
talked  terse  Saxon;  his  written  style  was  Johnsonese. 

Let  us  free  our  minds  from  cant,  and  admit  that, 
while  Latin  and  Greek  are  indispensable  for  the 
scholar,  yet  for  the  average  man  they  are  not  so. 
The  college  student  toiling  with  a  lexicon  cannot  be 
expected  to  master  the  beauties  of  an  intricate  lan- 
guage. At  best  the  amount  of  real  knowledge  that 
he  gets  is  very  slight,  and  that  is  of  a  grammatical 
cast,  which  repels  rather  than  inspires  delight  in  the 
beauties  of  the  thought  expressed.  The  best  of  the 
classic  authors  can  be  read  in  translations,  and,  as 
Emerson  said,  "  What  is  the  use  of  swimming  Charles 
River  when  one  can  walk  across  the  bridge?"  Fur- 
thermore, translations  are  used  extensively  in  all  col- 
leges, though  against  the  rules,  and  the  great  mass 
of  students  rarely  look  into  a  classical  author  after 
thej^  graduate.  Henry  George  said  that  he  could  get 
the  spirit  of  the  classic  writers  filtered  through  trans- 
lations. The  average  man  must  be  content  to  imbibe 
the  spirit  of  Plato  and  Homer  through  Jowett's  and 
Lord  Derby's  translations,  to  taste  Virgil's  quality 
in  Dryden's  admirable  version,  and  to  picture  the 
mighty  Cfesar  by  the  help  of  Plutarch's  and  Fronde's 
"Biographies"  and  Mommsen's  "History." 

A  significant  fact  is  that  as  the  struggle  for  exis- 
tence grows  fiercer,  men  seek  from  the  college  what 
will  best  help  them  to  gain  a  livelihood.  The  gain  in 
attendance  at  colleges  has  been  chiefly  in  the  profes- 
sional schools.  Men  will  not  devote  as  much  time  to 
general  studies  as  formerly.  From  1880  to  1884  the 
academic  classes  at  Yale  increased  from  612  to  1,159, 


W/mt  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living?     113 

while  the  scientific  classes  grew  from  190  to  655.  At 
Harvard  the  academic  classes  doubled  during  the 
same  period,  while  the  scientific  school  increased 
from  37  students  to  320. 

It  may  be  well  to  shut  one's  eyes  to  the  glamour 
that  surrounds  college  training  and  to  ask  bluntly : 
Does  it  really  accomplish  what  it  claims  to  and  is  the 
result  always  worth  the  effort  and  the  cost?  Possibly 
the.  men  who  have  taken  the  college  course  assume  that 
it  has  done  more  for  them  than  the  facts  will  warrant. 
As  the  conscientious  physician  cannot  be  sure  that 
quite  opposite  treatment  from  his  own,  or  no  treat- 
ment whatever,  might  have  relieved  the  patient,  so  we 
cannot  assert  that  a  wholly  different  training  might 
not  have  accomplished  better  results  than  that  which 
a  person  has  received.  It  is  charged,  for  example, 
that  self-made  men  are  conceited  and  "  worshiiJ  their 
creator."  But  is  not  this  the  very  fault  popularly 
ascribed  to  the  college  graduate?  If  one  seeks  for 
marked  exemplars  of  humility  it  is  easy  to  find  them 
among  self-taught  men,  such  as  Franklin,  Herbert 
Spencer,  Mill,  Darwin,  Lincoln,  and  Washington, 
while  the  arrogance  of  a  Freeman  or  the  omniscience 
of  a  Macaulay  prove  that  the  severest  intellectual  dis- 
cipline does  not  alter  individual  temperament. 

It  is  a  severe  reflection  upon  college  training  that 
our  seato  of  learning  are  usually  hotbeds  of  conser- 
vatism. What  can  be  thought  of  the  effect  of  liberal 
studios  which  make  men  intolerant  of  new  ideas?  A 
true  university  should  be  a  centre  of  free  thought, 
where  advanced  ideas  on  all  topics  will  find  warm 
welcome.  Is  this  true  of  Cambridge  and  Oxford, 
Yale  and  Harvard? 
8 


114     Wliat  Sltall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

A  third  point  iu  the  discussion  is  that,  despite  the 
current  arguments  in  favor  of  liberal  studies,  a  great 
many  students  take  only  the  technical  courses,  and 
are  entering  the  professions  without  crossing  the 
classical  bridge  that  has  hitherto  been  held  to  be  the 
only  way  to  reach  the  goal  of  knowledge. 

To  the  youth  who  cannot  go  to  college  1  would 
therefore  say :  Do  not  be  discouraged.  There  is  no 
royal  road  to  knowledge,  and  all  putha  lead  to  the 
temple  of  learning.  While  most  men  get  along  best 
in  the  beaten  track,  others  can  carve  their  own  way, 
and,  like  Bishop  Vincent,  give  themselves  an  all-round 
culture  and  training,  unaided  by  professors  or  recita- 
tions. No  one  need  remain  ignorant  if  he  chooses  to 
learn. 

The  Chautauqua  course  of  home  study  is  open  to 
the  most  isolated — to  the  youth  on  the  farm,  the  bed- 
ridden invalid  in  her  chamber,  the  lone  settler  on  the 
prairie,  or  the  colonist  in  far-distant  lands.  In  every 
American  town  of  any  size  there  are  libraries  and 
lecture-courses,  while  the  newspaper  bears  the  latest 
intelligence  to  the  most  distant  and  secluded  parts  of 
the  globe.  Even  if  deprived  of  books  you  can  study 
human  nature,  and  try  to  understand  men  and  women 
so  as  to  deal  ^vith  them  in  all  relations  of  life.  You 
can  also  make  yourself  familiar  with  the  vast  world 
of  nature  which  is  within  the  ken  of  every  open-eyed 
person.  If  you  gain  these  ends  without  going  to  col- 
lege, be  content.  Do  not  repine  because  you  have 
missed  other  advantages.  As  every  open  field  is  a 
practice-ground  for  the  athlete,  so  the  world  is  at 
your  service  if  you  will  but  seize  the  chance. 

I  would  say  to  the  isolated  student,  read  the  great 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Bo  for  a  Living  ?     115 

writers  of  3'our  own  and  other  ages — Homer,  Plato, 
Dante,  Goethe,  Shakespeare,  Darwin,  Emerson. 
Don't  waste  your  time  on  small  books.  Whatever 
you  study,  master  it  down  to  the  bottom.  Learn  to 
tear  out  the  heart  of  a  book,  as  Theodore  Parker  used 
to  do,  and  get  at  its  inner  meaning.  Finally,  master 
your  mother-tongue,  the  language  of  Chaucer,  Shakes- 
peare, Swift,  De  Foe,  Bunyan,  Burns,  Shelley, 
Franklin,  and  Lincoln,  and  strive  to  speak  and  write 
as  they  did. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

JOURNALISM. 

Editors  versus  "Writers— Insight  or  Expression— Strong  Convic- 
tions Essential  to  Good  ^Vritiug— "  A  Nose  for  News"— Schools  of 
Journalism— Newspaper  Training— Reporting  a  Fine  Art— City 
or  Country  Papers?— The  Country  Editor— Young  Men  Preferred 
—Newspaper  Salaries— Editors  as  Office  Holders. 

Journalism  lias  become  an  established  profession, 
a  veritable  "fourth  estate,"  as  Windliam  called  it. 
Hardly  any  calling  has  greater  attractions,  C.  A. 
Dana  said  it  is  "the  most  fascinating,  if  most  la- 
borious, profession."  Scholars,  lawyers,  politicians, 
and  clergymen  have  all  testified  to  its  absorbing  in- 
terest. J.  W.  Forney  mentions  the  pleasure  which 
Benton,  Douglas,  Buchanan,  Caleb  Cushing  and  At- 
torney-General Black  took  in  editorial  work.  It 
would  be  hard  to  find  a  public  man  in  America  who 
has  not  dabbled  in  journalism.  Margaret  Fuller, 
Bichard  Hildreth,  Charles  Sumner,  Eichard  A.  Dana, 
Edward  Everett,  Wendell  Phillips,  William  Lloyd 
Garrison,  Whittier,  Poe,  Willis,  Higginsou,  Freder- 
ick Law  Olmstead,  Mrs.  Stowe,  Beecher,  Theodore 
L.  Cuyler,  Parton,  Whipple,  Kirk,  Archbishop 
Hughes  and  "  Fannie  Fern"  are  a  few  among  the  many 
Americans  who  have  been  regular  contributors  to  the 
press. 

There  is  a  marked  difi'erence  between  the  journalist 
and  the  mere  writer.  The  latter  needs  to  be  skilled 
in  expression,  and  to  have  a  fund  of  general  informa- 


What  Slmll  Our  Bona  Do  for  a  Living?      117 

tion.  If  to  these  possessions  can  be  added  wit, 
fancy,  satire  and  invention,  so  much  the  better. 
Among  the  best  examples  of  men  of  this  type  were 
Richard  T.  Hikbeth,  William  H.  Hurlbut,  and  I.  B. 
Chamberlin  of  the  New  York  World,  and  Charles  G. 
Cougdon  of  the  Tribune,  who  probably  were  without 
superiors  in  their  kind  of  editorial  ^Titing.  Mr. 
Chamberlin,  like  Mr.  Hildreth,  whom  C.  A.  Dana 
considered  the  most  valuable  and  accomplished  news- 
paper writer  he  had  ever  knowoi,  possessed  great 
political  knowledge,  with  a  weighty,  dispassionate, 
and  convincing  style.  Mr.  Hurlbut  was  a  highly 
accomplished  peisijleur,  while  Mr.  Congdon,  with 
equal  wit  but  less  brilliancy',  had  decided  convic- 
tions, and  hence  had  more  influence  as  a  writer.  Yet 
these  men,  though  all  remarkably  able,  cannot  rank 
with  journalists  like  Raymond,  Bennett,  Greeley, 
Dana,  or  Samuel  Bowles,  who  combined  the  faculty 
of  writing  with  that  of  editing.  This  last  function 
requires  an  insight  into  public  sentiment,  a  capacity 
for  originating  and  shaping  a  policy,  and  a  knowledge 
of  the  make-up  and  general  conduct  of  a  newspaper, 
which  are  far  rarer  attributes  than  are  needed  to  make 
a  good  newspaper  writer.  The  journalist  must  divine 
and  originate ;  the  writer  has  only  to  expound,  to  illus  ■ 
trate  and  defend.  Insight  and  judgment  are  de- 
manded of  the  one ;  imagination  and  a  good  style  of 
the  other.  As  Emerson  remarked :  "  Of  two  men  of 
equal  ability,  the  one  who  does  not  write,  but  keeps 
his  eye  on  the  course  of  public  aflfairs,  will  have  the 
higher  judicial  wisdom." 

The  qualities  required  to  make  a  good  editor  are 
breadth  of  mind,  sympathy,  intuition,  system  and  exe- 


118     JFhat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

cutive  ability.  He  should  welcome  new  ideas,  yet  be 
keen  of  vision,  so  as  to  detect  the  true  from  the  false. 
He  should  have  an  orderly  mind,  and  preserve  what 
The  Nation  calls  "  editorial  perspective. "  Finally,  he 
should  exercise  perfect  control  over  his  staff,  not  by 
unnecessary  interference  in  small  matters,  but  by  wise 
allowance  for  individual  idiosyncrasies.  Henry  Wat- 
terson  says  no  one  can  succeed  in  journalism  unless 
he  takes  a  deep  interest  in  it.  If  he  has  genuine 
talent,  he  can  make  a  paj^er  in  a  mud-heap  or  in  the 
smallest  village.  He  must  possess  sti'ong  sympathy 
with  popular  feeling.  This,  he  adds,  was  the  secret 
of  Horace  Greeley's  strength,  and  the  lack  of  it  ex- 
plains the  failure  of  many  editors. 

The  head  of  a  great  newspaper  should  not  write  at 
all.  He  has  enough  to  do  to  keep  the  run  of  events 
and  direct  others  what  to  say.  Prentice  Mulford 
even  declared  that  it  was  not  necessary  that  an  editor 
should  know  how  to  write.  He  instanced  one  success- 
ful editor  who  could  not  write  ten  lines  of  grammati- 
cal English,  yet  writers  were  instruments  in  his  hands. 
"  There  are  men  in  Wall  Street,"  he  said,  "  who  could 
successfully  edit  a  paper,  but  it  wouldn't  pay  them  to 
do  it."  Mr.  Delane  of  the  London  Times  seldom 
wrote  a  line,  yet  his  personality^  was  so  stamped  upon 
the  paper  that  when  he  took  a  vacation  the  most 
careless  reader  became  aware  of  the  fact.  Every  im- 
portant news  item  had  to  have  his  approval.  He 
knew  not  only  what  to  print  but  what  to  omit,  a  most 
important  qualification. 

A  really  great  editor  is  he  who  inspires  his  staff 
to  the  most  splendid  achievement,  spends  money 
lavishly  for  the  earliest  and  most  important  news, 


What  ShaU  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      119 

distances  all  rivals  by  his  foresight,  liberality  and 
strategy,  and  discusses  public  questions  in  a  broad 
and  tolerant  spirit.  Such  men  are  rare,  and  their  re- 
wards are  proportionately  great, 

A  journalist  should  not  be  a  narrow  partizan,  but 
should  be  open-minded  and  fair  in  treating  public 
questions.  Henry  J.  Eaymond  invented  good  man- 
ners in  newspaper  discussion.  He  was  noted  for  the 
completeness  with  which  he  always  stated  his  oppo- 
nents' arguments  before  answering  them.  The  ani- 
mosities and  personalities  of  opposing  editors  interest 
the  public  but  little,  and  ajBfect  opinion  not  at  all. 

Henry  Watterson  says :  "  A  paper's  strength  depends 
upon  the  man  who  stays  longest  at  night ;  the  last  two 
hours  are  worth  all  the  rest."  It  was  Mr.  Delane's 
habit  in  editing  the  London  Times  to  remain  until  the 
paper  went  to  press. 

C.  A.  Dana  insisted  that  a  good  writer  must  have 
convictions,  and  that  no  one  can  do  his  best  when 
writing  counter  to  his  own  belief.  WTiat  tells  in  writ- 
ing is  the  weight,  force  and  intensity  of  a  man's 
ideas.  It  is  not  personality,  but  convictions.  This, 
he  said,  was  the  secret  of  Horace  Greeley's  power. 
It  also  explained  Eaymond's  lack  of  influence.  The 
people  believed  that  Mr.  Greeley  was  sincere  and 
trusted  him,  while  Raymond  was  a  trimmer,  who, 
though  ho  was  an  admirable  expositor,  and  a  subtle 
and  persuasive  advocate,  saw  both  sides  of  a  question 
too  clearly  to  believe  strongly  in  either.  In  former 
days  such  men  as  Henry  George  or  Edward  Bellamy 
would  have  been  connected  with  a  journal  like  the 
Tribune,  but  there  is  no  place  on  the  press  for  them 
now. 


120     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Uvimj? 

Henry  Watterson  says:  "An  editor  should  have 
strong  convictions  and  stick  to  them.  It  will  not  do 
for  a  man  to  change  about  as  Booth  does  in  the  cast 
of  "Julius  Cresar,"  plaj-ing  Bndus  one  night,  Cassins 
the  next,  and  Antony  a  third.  It  is  only  conviction 
that  has  dominant  weight  with  the  public." 

In  the  past  twenty  years  the  American  press  has 
hardly  produced  a  single  great  editor  who  would  rank 
with  Greeley  or  Bennett,  Bowles  or  Kaymond,  or  an 
editorial  writer  of  force  and  convictions  who  has  won 
a  national  reputation.  There  have  been  brilliant  cor- 
respondents, like  Stanley,  MacGahan,  G.  W.  Smalley, 
Charles  Nordhoff  and  Julian  Ralph.  But  the  recent 
successes  in  journalism  have  been  in  the  line  of  news- 
gathering,  and  in  achievements  like  Stanley's  search 
for  Dr.  Livingston,  or  the  World's  subscription  for  the 
Bartholdi  statue. 

A  journalist  must  have  "a  nose  for  news,"  which 
Samuel  Bowles  defined  as  a  sort  of  sixth  sense.  Most 
persons'  likes  and  dislikes  are  matters  of  whim  or 
prejudice,  but  an  editor,  apart  from  his  own  tastes  or 
inclinations,  must  feel  instinctively  what  will  interest 
his  readers.  He  must  also  be  able  to  divine  public 
sentiment  in  advance  of  its  expression,  and  by  antici- 
pating it  be  prepared  to  drift  with  it,  or  to  stem  it. 

Whitelaw  Eeid  says :  "  The  imperative  demand  of 
modern  journalism  is  that  if  a  question  be  sprung 
upon  the  sore-pressed  writer  at  midnight,  his  paper 
shall  next  morning  give  it  fair  and  intelligent  discus- 
sion. It  is  not  enough  that  you  should  know  where 
to  find  things,  which  is  about  what  colleges  generally 
teach ;  you  must  know  things,  and  know  them  at  once. 
For  the  political  writer  on  a  great  daily,  nothing  must 


What  Shall  Oar  Boys  Do  for  a  Livhuj  ?     121 

be  too  sudden — no  strategic  combination  of  parties,  no 
specious  platform  that  repudiates  accepted  dogmas, 
no  professed  revival  of  ancient  faitli  that  is  really  the 
i:)romulgation  of  new  and  revolutiouarj^  heresy." 

The  editor  cannot  create  opinion,  but  he  can  fore- 
cast the  sober  second-thought  of  the  community  and 
thus  act  wiselj^  during  temporary  bursts  of  excite- 
ment. "  No  man  is  as  wise  as  everybody,"  and  public 
opinion  sometimes  defies  forecasting,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  effect  of  Dewey's  victory'  at  Manila  in  changing 
American  foreign  policy.  The  editor  must  possess 
the  same  intuitive  perception  of  public  feeling  that  a 
great  advocate  like  Rufus  Choate  manifested  in  deal- 
ing with  juries. 

This  facility  cannot  be  gained  from  books  alone; 
but  by  mingling  freely  with  all  sorts  and  conditions 
of  men,  in  the  mart  and  in  the  courts,  in  clubs,  on 
the  train,  and  thus,  by  close  personal  contact,  learn- 
ing their  ways  and  thoughts. 

A  clever  writer  in  The  Outlook  speaks  of  the  changed 
editorial  tone  of  the  New  York  press,  which  causes 
many  readers  to  skip  the  leaders.  The  reason  is  that 
newspaper  editors  move  in  too  narrow  a  circle,  become 
self-sufficient,  opinionated  and  theoretical.  They 
miss  the  corrective  of  rubbing  up  against  practical 
men  whose  views  differ  from  their  own.  They  should 
mingle  with  the  world.  "Whenever  I  change  my 
point  of  view,  and  pass  an  evening  at  m}'  club  talking 
things  over  with  a  banker,  a  lawj'er,  or  any  man  of 
affairs,  I  do  my  most  effective  editorial  writing,"  said 
an  editor.  The  country  editor  docs  not  need  to  make 
this  effort,  but  absorbs  public  sentiment  through  his 
skin.     Prentice  Mulford  favors  the  plan  proposed  by 


122     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  fm-  a  Living  ? 

Henry  J.  Raymond,  of  an  occasional  turnabout  in 
every  newspaper  office.  "  The  editorial  writers  ought 
to  go  to  reporting,  and  let  the  reporters  write  edi- 
torials. The  editors  would  then  get  out  of  the  narrow 
rut  they  live  in  and  would  learn  something  of  life. 
Living  as  they  do  among  their  exchanges,  relying 
upon  reporters'  work  at  second-hand,  they  are  the 
most  imjjracticable  men  on  earth.  Who  ever  saw  a 
prominent  editor  in  the  police  courts,  or  at  the  meet- 
ings of  the  Farmers'  Club,  or  in  the  places  where  the 
fundamental  and  creditable  things  of  life  are  actually 
performed?"  Emerson  says,  in  "Society  and  Soli- 
tude": "If  you  would  learn  to  write,  'tis  in  the 
street  you  must  learn  it." 

A  prime  cause  of  Mr.  Greeley's  great  intellectual 
power  was  that,  like  Lincoln  and  Beecher,  he  mingled 
constantly  with  all  classes,  and  drew  inspiration  direct 
from  the  popular  mind  and  heart.  He  was  an  omniv- 
orous reader,  but  he  knew  men  as  well  as  books.  On 
an  average,  he  conversed  every  week  with  a  hundred 
persons  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  At  the  same 
time  his  correspondence  was  immense.  During  his 
lecture  trips,  he  visited  every  State  in  the  Union. 
Probably  no  one  was  more  familiar  with  the  United 
States.  The  muscular  vigor  and  freshness  of  Mr. 
Greeley's  style  were  largely  due  to  this  constant  and 
close  contact  with  the  plain  people."  He  had  a  deep 
sympathy  with  the  feelings  and  condition  of  the 
masses,  a  quick  perception  of  their  desires,  and  a 
remarkable  faculty  for  giving  voice  to  them.  Mr. 
Dana  said  that  Mr.  Greeley's  signed  articles,  and  those 
written  in  the  third  person,  were  the  best  of  his 
productions.    Even  his  personal  idiosyncrasies  con- 


WJmt  Shall  Om-  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?     123 

tributed  to  the  liveliness  of  his  style,  and  added  to 
the  interest  of  the  Tribune. 

C.  A.  Dana,  in  his  address  on  journalism  at  Cornell 
University,  laid  special  stress  upon  the  value  of  his 
six  years'  experience  in  Buffalo  as  a  dry-goods  clerk. 
He  said :  "  It  is  only  by  being  put  through  the  mill 
that  a  man  acquires  the  science  of  the  world,  and 
knows  how  to  consider  business  questions  of  every 
kind."  Regarding  intellectual  training,  he  said:  "I 
never  saw  a  newspaper  man  who  knew  too  much,  ex- 
cept those  who  knew  too  many  things  that  were  not 
so.  I  am  myself  a  partisan  of  the  strict,  old-fashioned, 
classical  education.  The  man  who  knows  Greek  and 
Latin,  and  knows  it — I  don't  mean  who  has  read  six 
books  of  Virgil  for  a  college  examination,  but  the 
man  who  can  pick  up  Virgil  or  Tacitus  and  read  them 
without  going  to  his  dictionary ;  and  the  man  who 
can  read  the  '  Iliad '  in  Greek  without  boggling, 
and  if  he  can  read  Aristotle  and  Plato,  all  the  better, 
— that  man  may  be  trusted  to  edit  a  newspaper.  But 
above  all  he  should  know  his  own  language,  the 
English  language.  .  .  .  The  man  who  is  going  to 
publisli  a  daily  manual  of  news  and  facts  and  ideas  and 
truths,  or  even  lies,  in  that  language,  should  know 
the  language  thoroughly.  Otherwise  he  may  some- 
times say  what  he  does  not  mean.  .  .  .  The  young 
newspaper  man  ought  to  know  the  practical  sciences 
above  all,  especially  chemistry  and  electricity ;  history 
he  should  know,  too,  particularh'  American  history, 
the  American  Constitution,  and  constitutional  law." 

Samuel  Bowles  laid  great  stress  upon  the  value  of 
travel  as  training  for  a  journalist.  He  thought  a 
man  should  see  the  world  and  mix  freely  with  men, 


124     IVJiaf  ShaU  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livhuj  ? 

in  order  to  rub  the  moss  off  his  mind  and  broaden 
his  views. 

Every  journalist  should  learn  how  to  "  dig  for  facts" 
and  how  to  store  away  his  information,  so  as  to  use 
it  when  required.  Scrap-books,  Index  Kerums,  and 
note-books  all  have  their  uses.  I  have  found  a  card- 
index  the  most  compact  and  convenient  record  of  facts 
and  reference.  It  requires  little  labor,  is  easily 
handled,  occupies  small  space,  and  is  always  up  to 
date. 

A  knowledge  of  shorthand  is  helpful  but  not  indis- 
pensable. I  would  prefer  French  or  German,  owing 
to  their  usefulness  to  a  modern  editor.  A  retentive 
memory,  trained  to  store  and  classify  facts,  is  quite 
as  valuable  as  shorthand.  A  writer  remarks  that 
"  shorthand  holds  a  two-edged  sword.  It  gives  the 
practitioner  a  steady  income,  but  frequently  arrests 
that  development  of  mind  caused  by  the  alternative  of 
writing  well  or  starving.  Hence  there  are  journalists 
who  rejoice  in  their  faculty  of  stenography,  and  others 
who  hug  themselves  because  they  have  never  possessed 
that  sometimes  fatal  facility  for  making  enough  to 
keep  the  wolf  from  the  lazy  man's  door." 

It  is  surprising  that  more  young  journalists  do  not 
qualify  themselves  for  editorial  writing  by  the  study 
of  political  economy,  history,  finance  and  social 
science.  There  is  ample  room  in  this  direction  for 
men  capable  of  writing  ably  on  current  themes.  It 
is  easj'  to  find  men  who  can  edit  and  compile  news, 
but,  as  D.  G.  Croly  once  said,  "  The  hardest  place  to 
fill  is  that  of  a  good  editorial  wi'iter  who  can  be  trusted 
to  discuss  the  multifarious  topics  which  come  up  daily 
for  editorial  judgment." 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livimj  ?     125 

Schools  of  journalism  Lave  been  opened  in  several 
places.  At  Cornell  and  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania there  are  courses  of  study,  specially  adai:)ted  to 
the  requirements  of  those  who  propose  to  enter  the 
newspaper  profession.  These  courses  supply  the 
preliminary  training  which  is  needed  by  every  be- 
ginner, but  all  editors  agree  that  the  practical  expe- 
rience of  a  newspaper  office  is  indispensable.  The 
standard  of  qualification  for  journalism  is  higher  than 
ever  before,  and  a  callable  man  alwa3S  has  an  advan- 
tage over  the  untrained  applicant.  But  no  one  can 
teach  journalism  theoretically.  It  must  be  learned 
in  the  school  of  experience.  Nevertheless,  as  a  lead- 
ing journalist  remarks :  "  Wliile  no  school  of  journal- 
ism could  possiljly  impart  that  tact,  that  intuitive 
percejjtion  and  judgment,  that  quick-witted  insight 
into  the  very  pith  and  core  of  a  matter  on  which  the 
success  of  newspaper  cooduct  depends,  it  is  a  vast 
mistake  to  suppose  that  a  profession  like  journalism 
has  not  its  rationale,  and  that  its  facts  and  working 
are  not  bottomed  on  intelligible  laws,  a  knowledge  of 
which  would  be  of  great  value  to  the  practical  news- 
paper man." 

Prentice  Mulford,  in  a  lecture  on  "  Eighteen  Years 
in  Journalism, "  said  he  began  by  writing  his  first 
article  for  the  press  under  a  pine-tree  in  California, 
and  maintained  that  the  journalist's  school  was  the 
world.  If  he  had  to  train  a  talented  boy  for  journal- 
ism he  would  send  him  to  sea  before  the  mast,  into 
the  ranks  of  the  army,  into  the  l^ackwoods  with  the 
pioneers,  and  among  the  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers 
of  water,  so  that  he  should  learn  society  from  the 
foundations.     In  supi^ort  of  this  opinion,  he  instanced 


126     WJmt  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

Bret  Harte,  Mark  Twain,  Joaquin  Miller,  and  also  the 
author  of  "Progress  and  Poverty,"  of  whom  he  said: 
"  He  never  went  to  college.  It  would  have  spoiled 
him. "  "  The  country  printing-ofl&ce, "  says  a  writer  in 
The  Forum,  "is  our  only  school  of  journalism,  and 
its  graduates  are  found  everywhere.  There  is  no 
other  i)lace  where  a  young  man  can  learu  to  be  an  all- 
rouud  journalist," 

Reporting  is  the  corner-stone  of  journalism.  Abil- 
ity in  that  line  should  be  rated  above  everything  ex- 
cept administrative  talent.  Henry  J.  Raymond  held 
that  the  reporter  should  be  the  best-paid  member  of  a 
newspaper  sta£f.  To  be  a  good  reporter  requires 
quick,  keen  and  accurate  observation,  readiness  in 
making  acquaintances  and  getting  information,  dis- 
crimination in  selecting  the  nub  of  a  subject,  a  reten- 
tive memory  and  a  fresh,  vivid  style.  Some  of  the 
reports  of  the  New  York  papers,  notably  those  of  the 
Sun,  are  models  of  picturesque,  condensed  and  bril- 
liant narration,  yet  they  are  often  written  by  very 
young  men. 

A  reporter  who  is  painstaking  and  accurate,  and 
who  does  not  abuse  their  confidence,  will  win  the  res- 
pect of  persons  of  prominence  in  politics  and  else- 
where, who  will  gladly  give  him  information  when  he 
seeks  it. 

The  prejudice  against  college  men,  which  Horace 
Greeley  voiced  in  his  famous  phrase,  "  Of  all  horned 
cattle  deliver  me  from  college  graduates,"  is  partly 
because  of  their  conceit,  but  still  more  because  of  their 
lack  of  acquaintance  with  life.  The  easiest  way  to 
supply  this  deficiency  is  to  practise  reporting  in  all 
of  its  branches.     The  young  reporter  who  is  sent  to 


WJiat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      127 

lectures,  political  meetings  and  scientific  discussions 
cannot  fail  to  gain  valuable  knowledge  about  men  and 
affairs.  It  is  his  own  fault  if  lie  is  superficial.  I  re- 
call with  vividness  my  own  experience  as  reporter  and 
correspondent.  One  day  I  was  at  the  Tweed  trial, 
where  leading  lawyers  contended  before  a  famous 
judge.  On  other  occasions  I  was  sitting  for  weeks 
at  a  Methodist  conference,  or  attending  the  meetings 
of  a  social  science  association,  or  reporting  a  great 
strike  in  the  coal  regions,  where  complex  questions 
of  the  relation  of  capital  and  labor,  and  of  corpora- 
tions to  the  State,  had  to  be  studied.  The  roving 
correspondent  is  like  the  cultured  young  man  of  Ad- 
dison's time,  making  the  grand  Continental  tour. 
All  doors  fly  open  at  the  magic  name  of  the  great 
journal,  while  the  stimulus  of  writing  under  pressure, 
on  fresh  and  timely  subjects,  brings  out  one's  best 
powers. 

A  reporter  should  have  untiring  energy  and  health. 
He  must  work  long  hours  and  endure  exposure,  lack 
of  food,  absence  of  sleep.  He  must  be  able  to  write 
against  time  under  the  most  trying  circumstances. 
Suavity  and  tact  are  indispensable  aids  to  him  in 
making  acquaintances,  and  keenness  and  persistency 
in  following  up  clews.  A  man  should  be  as  smooth 
as  oil  and  as  sharp  as  a  needle,  with  the  scent  and 
tireless  energy  of  a  bloodhound.  He  must  be  able 
to  write  on  his  knees,  in  a  rocking  train  or  tossing  ship, 
by  the  light  of  a  smoking  lantern  or  flickering  candle, 
and  to  tell  a  story  in  clear,  comi)act  language  without 
verbiage,  so  well  penned  that  any  compositor  can 
read  it.  Charles  Dickens  was  an  insi)ired  reporter. 
Henry  M.  Stanley  and  Archibald  Forbes  also  showed 


128     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

the  traits  needed  for  success  in  this  field.  The  pages 
of  the  great  papers  are  filled  with  descriptions  of 
events  that  happened  within  a  few  hours,  which  are 
simi)ly  wonderful  for  their  freshness,  vividness  and 
skill  in  narration.  Stupidity  and  inaccuracy,  as 
Charles  Dudley  Warner  says,  are  the  unpardonable 
sins  in  journalism.  Above  all  things  a  newspaper 
should  be  interesting  and  its  reports  truthful.  There- 
fore the  young  journalist  should  strive  to  be  clear 
and  exact  in  his  statements.  "  The  public  itself  and 
not  the  newspaper  is  the  great  factory  of  baseless 
rumors  and  untruths."  The  newspaper  is  "the  great 
corrector  of  popular  rumors."  Accurate  reporting 
in  every  department  is  therefore  the  foundation  of 
every  journalistic  success.  The  sub-editors  and  the 
executive  men  who  suggest  topics,  get  up  sensations, 
assign  each  reporter  to  the  task  he  is  best  fitted  for, 
edit  the  copy  and  write  headlines,  do  valuable  work. 
So  do  the  writers  who  comment  on  the  news  and  direct 
the  policy  of  a  journal.  But  it  is  the  news-gatherers 
who  make  a  neics  paper. 

The  next  question  to  consider  is  whether  a  large  or 
small  establishment  offers  the  best  opportunity  to 
the  beginner.  In  the  former  case  there  are  advan- 
tages in  the  way  of  discipline,  wider  experience,  and 
the  stimulus  which  springs  from  competing  with  man}- 
rivals.  But  on  the  other  hand  there  is  great  division 
of  labor;  each  man  is  limited  to  a  certain  field  and 
tends  to  get  in  a  rut;  indi\dduality,  which  tells  for 
so  much  in  journalism,  is  lost,  and  he  becomes  a  part 
of  a  great  mechanism.  In  a  small  office  a  beginner 
has  to  make  himself  generally  useful.  He  gains  a 
more  varied  experience  and  with  it  confidence  and 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      129 

breadth.  Samuel  Bowles  begau  at  sixteen,  in  his 
father's  ijrinting-office,  reporting  everything  from  a 
cattle-show  to  a  college  commencement,  and  in  time 
he  made  the  Springfield  Be^Juhlican  a  power.  Prentice 
Mulford  said :  "  A  newspaper  man's  best  opportunity 
to-day  is  as  editor  of  a  country  newspaper.  New 
York  is  swamped  with  clever  men."  Hardly  a  single 
journalist  of  note  has  come  out  of  the  great  meti'o- 
politan  dailies  in  recent  years,  yet  scores  have  grad- 
uated in  the  mean  time  from  smaller  papers.  The 
Springfield  Repuhlican  has  been  a  model  training- 
school  for  newspaper  men  and  women.  Spontaneity, 
which  on  the  press  tells  more  than  drill,  is  more  apt 
to  be  developed  in  a  small  newspaper  office  than  in  a 
large  one.  The  extraordinary  growth  of  newspaper 
humorists,  and  their  success  in  building  up  such 
I)apers  as  the  Danhury  Neios,  Detroit  Free  Press,  and 
Burlington  Hawkeye,  show  what  can  be  done  in  local 
fields. 

While  the  pay  of  metropolitan  journalists  is  higher 
than  that  of  country  editors,  their  expenses  are  far 
greater,  and  they  have  neither  the  security  nor  the 
indeiiendence  of  the  latter.  I  should,  therefore,  say 
to  the  youth  who  feels  within  his  breast  the  undevel- 
oped genius  of  a  great  editor :  Avoid  the  great  cities. 
Be  content  to  take  an}^  position  on  a  small  paper 
where  you  can  test  your  skill,  and  just  as  soon  as  you 
show  your  hand  you  will  be  appreciated.  There  are 
watchful  eyes  in  editorial  sanctums  to  detect  latent 
talent  and  determination  to  utilize  it. 

Henry  Watterson,  editor  of  the  Louisville  Courier- 
Jour)ial,  in  an  address  on  "Country  Journalism," 
makes  some  judicious  remarks  upon  the  possibilities 
9 


130     JVJiat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living.'' 

open  to  the  country  editor  who  is  honest,  intelligent 
and  industrious,  who  believes  in  his  profession  and 
himself.  "  The  life  of  the  country  journalist  may  not — 
surely  does  not — offer  to  an  ambitious  seeker  after 
fortune  and  fame  the  most  splendid  or  even  the  most 
promising  career  in  the  world.  It  must,  in  the  be- 
ginning, limit  itself  to  the  simple  pleasures  of  the 
village,  to  homely  joys,  to  small,  and  if  it  be  success- 
ful, to  good  asi^irations.  But,  within  this  abridgment, 
it  presents  a  scheme  of  existence  before  which  the 
Titans  of  the  world  of  action  and  of  thought  might 
pause  and  question  their  destiny  and  themselves. 

"  Has  the  country  doctor,  the  country  preacher,  each 
of  whom  may  fill  his  sphere  as  grandly  as  though  he 
stood  in  the  place  of  what  are  called  the  greatest  of 
God's  creatures,  a  better  opportunity  to  lead  a  noble 
life  and  leave  a  blessed  memory  behind  him  than  the 
country  journalist?  Neither  has  certainly  a  more 
fruitful  field  of  labor,  because  in  addition  to  his  pros- 
pect of  material  and  professional  success,  the  country 
editor  may  mingle  in  affairs  without  becoming  a  place- 
man. He  may  unite  to  his  character  of  citizen  that 
of  a  public  instructor,  in  rather  a  small  way  I  grant, 
but  still  according  to  his  condition  and  his  statiu'e, 
and  within  the  boundary  of  perfect  usefulness  and 
content. 

"  If  I  should  be  thrown  out  of  business,  and  thus 
should  be  given  the  occasion  to  look  about  for  some 
means  of  supporting  my  family  and  myself,  I  think 
the  most  attractive  employment  which  could  be  offered 
me  would  be  a  tidy  newspaper  office  in  some  respect- 
able country  town ;  and  am  vain  enough  to  believe  that 
I  should  not  starve." 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Liuw<j?      131 

This  sketcli  is  uot  exaggerated,  and  tlio  youug 
journalist  might  well  consider  the  advantages  of  at 
least  trying  this  field  before  entering  into  competition 
with  newspaper  men  in  great  cities.  Mr.  Howells 
and  Mr.  Howe  have  described  in  the  Century  and  in 
ScrUmers  the  varied  fortunes  of  the  country  editor. 
It  is  a  splendid  training-school,  and  it  oifers  far  better 
opportunities  than  the  maelstrom  of  metropolitan 
journalism. 

An  editor  must  adapt  himself  to  his  constituency. 
Watterson  is  aj^preciated  by  his  Kentucky  readers 
because  they  like  his  vigorous  and  breezy  style. 
He  once  said  to  me  that  the}'  had  accejjted  views  ex- 
pressed in  their  own  way  which  they  would  have  re- 
jected if  put  in  what  he  called  "the  New  England 
lingo." 

The  young  journalist  should  learn  to  investigate 
facts  and  get  at  the  truth  ou  all  questions.  As  Matthew 
Arnold  says,  "  he  should  learn  to  see  things  steadily 
and  as  they  are."  He  should  possess  sufficient  un- 
derstanding of  the  general  principles  of  political  and 
social  science  to  be  able  to  treat  questions  relating  to 
such  subjects  when  they  come  up  for  discussion.  To 
be  ignorant  of  the  tariff,  of  the  silver  question,  social- 
ism, the  evolution  theory  or  the  tendencies  of  relig- 
ious philosophy  would  be  unfortunate,  to  say  the  least. 

I  should  say  to  the  young  journalist,  as  I  have  said 
to  the  young  lawyer,  don't  be  a  "fuuuy  man,"  but 
exercise  your  wit  and  humor  in  advocacy  of  some 
great  principle,  or  in  attacking  some  groat  wrong. 
The  writer  who  merely  raises  a  laugh  seldom  exerts 
much  influence. 

A  journalist  should  study  the  art  of  putting  things. 


132     What  Shall  Our  Boyfi  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

Franklin's  advice  in  reference  to  the  best  methods  of 
persuasion,  which  I  have  already  cited,  deserves  at- 
tention. The  political  writings  of  De  Foe,  Swift, 
Cobbett,  Sidney  Smith,  Tom  Paine,  and  other  famous 
pami)hleteers  should  be  carefully  studied.  W.  O. 
Bartlett,  an  exceptionally  able  writer,  said  that  it  is 
the  power  to  discern  what  is  interesting  that  makes 
a  journalist.  He  thought  the  colloquial  style  best, 
with  short  sentences,  and  but  one  thought  in  an  edi- 
torial. 

Samuel  Bowles  wrote  to  a  young  journalist  who 
asked  his  counsel :  "  I  can  hardly  give  you,  you  hardly 
need,  advice  as  to  3^ our  style.  What  it  lacks  essen- 
tially is  ease  and  fluency,  and  that  can  only  come 
from  continued  experience  and  culture.  Sometimes 
your  long  sentences  are  awkward,  and  would  be  better 
if  divided.  That  is  about  all  I  can  say  in  the  way  of 
criticism.  You  always  have  the  meat  of  fact  and 
opinion,  and  you  go  direct  to  your  subject.  These 
are  the  essentials  after  all."  Mr.  Dana  told  a  young 
reporter  never  to  write  for  practice,  but  always,  if 
possible,  for  publication. 

In  journalism  a  preference  is  given  to  young  men. 
Any  one  can  ivy  his  hand  at  reporting  or  sketch- 
writing,  and  if  he  manifests  energy  and  ability  his 
articles  will  be  accepted.  The  pay  will  be  moderate. 
It  may  be  hard  to  get  ahead.  Still,  most  successful 
newspaper  men  have  started  in  this  way,  and  plenty 
of  bright  men  earn  salaries  far  beyond  what  they  could 
obtain  in  business  or  in  another  profession. 

Most  of  the  leading  American  editors  began  at  the 
foot  of  the  ladder.  Bennett,  Greeley,  Dana,  Eay- 
mond,  Bowles,  Watterson,  Halstead,  Whitelaw  Eeid, 


What  Shall  Oar  Boys  Do  for  a  Livimj  ?      183 

Horace  White,  Gotlkiu,  Medill,  Johu  Holmes,  the 
two  Pulitzers,  all  wou  their  success  b}'  hard  labor  and 
patient  waiting. 

After  a  man  has  passed  his  youth  and  is  approach- 
ing middle  age,  he  finds  the  chances  of  advancement 
small,  and  the  pay  inadequate  for  the  needs  of  a 
family.  Newspaper  work  is  exhausting;  men  get 
into  a  rut  and  find  themselves  displaced  by  younger 
rivals ;  salaries  are  ruthlessly  "  cut."  One's  past  per- 
formance, however  brilliant,  is  forgotten,  and  experi- 
enced and  able  men  are  shoved  aside,  because  their 
places  can  be  filled  at  less  cost.  The  staff  of  the 
great  metropolitan  journal  is  mostly  made  up  of 
young  men.  I  have  often  said  to  editors,  and  they 
have  assented :  "  Twenty  years'  experience  enables  me 
to  charge  full  fees  in  my  i^rofession  as  a  sanitary  en- 
gineer, but  if  I  should  apply  at  a  newspaper  ofliee  for 
a  place,  with  the  same  experience  in  newspaper  work 
that  I  have  had  in  engineering,  you  would  glance  at 
my  gray  hairs  and  say  'No. '"  Furthermore,  the  press 
to-day  is  simply  an  agency  for  making  money. 
Counting-room  interests  control.  It  thus  appears 
that  while  journalism  is  one  of  the  easiest  occupations 
to  get  started  in,  and  one  of  the  most  fascinating 
pursuits,  it  is  not  attractive  as  a  permanent  calling. 
Clergymen,  lawyers,  doctors  and  engineers  stick  to 
their  callings,  but  the  list  of  men  who  have  gone  out 
of  journalism  is  long,  and  the  profession  is  the  worse 
for  this  fact. 

A  writer  in  The  Forum  for  April,  1898,  gives  the 
average  pay  of  newspai)er  men  throughout  the  United 
States.  It  is  surprisingly  low.  A  New  York  reporter 
earns  from  $12  to  .*?25  a  week,  a  sub-editor  from  120 


134     What  SJiall  Our  Boijs  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

to  $40,  editorial  writers  from  $50  to  $75.  Special 
correspondents,  book-reviewers,  art-critics  and  man- 
aging editors  may  earn  more  than  these  sums,  but  the 
latter  positions  are  the  plums  of  the  jorofessiou,  and 
few  in  number.  Brilliant  and  industrious  space- 
writers  often  make  handsome  incomes,  but  they  drift 
into  magazine-work  or  story -writing.  None  of  these 
salaries  compare  with  the  earnings  of  men  of  equal 
standing  in  law,  medicine  or  engineering.  News- 
paper men  usually  work  hard  and  die  poor. 

Should  an  editor  enter  public  life?  My  answer 
would  be,  No !  His  usefulness  in  one  occupation 
will  be  hindered  by  adopting  the  other.  Henry 
Watterson's  views  on  this  subject,  expressed  when  he 
refused  to  accept  the  nomination  to  the  United  States 
Senate,  may  be  quoted :  "  The  example  of  two  eminent 
members  of  our  profession,  whose  contentions  in  the 
field  of  practical  politics  embittered  their  lives, 
dwarfed  their  usefulness,  and  tarnished  their  fame, 
and  the  tragic  fate  which  each  in  his  death  encoun- 
tered, made  an  early  and  deep  impression  upon  my 
mind.  My  experience  in  Congress  was  a  verification  of 
my  pre-conceptions  and  predilections.  For  all  the 
good  I  was  able  to  do  I  might  as  well  have  stayed 
at  home.  I  think  with  Philip  Van  Artevelde,  that 
'men  in  their  places  are  the  men  who  stand.' 

"I  never  knew  what  pure  selfishness  means  and 
squalid  dependence  is,  until  I  found  myself  an  atom 
of  that  class  in  which,  more  than  any  other  on  earth, 
it  is  every  man  for  himself  and  the  devil  take  the  hind- 
most." 


CHAPTER  X^T:I. 

THE  LEGAL  PROFESSION, 

Its  Popularity — A  Lawyer's  Daily  Duties — How  to  Study 
Law — Breadth  of  Culture  Indispensable — Where  to  Start — 
Work,  the  Secret  of  Success — How  to  Deal  with  Judges  and 
Juries — Advice  from  Veterans — Rules  of  Conduct— Fees — Law 
and  Politics. 

No  calling  is  more  popular  than  the  practice  of  the 
law.  By  it  many  attain  fame  and  fortune.  It  was 
the  gatewa}'  through  which  Webster,  Clay,  Seward, 
Lincoln,  Chase,  Tilden,  Evarts  and  other  famous 
Americans  entered  public  life.  Hence  the  profes- 
sion is  overcrowded,  and  the  competition  is  intense. 
One-fourth  of  the  graduates  of  Yale  and  Hansard 
select  the  legal  profession.  Everj^ where  the  law- 
schools  are  filled.  The  study  of  law  fascinates.  As 
Charles  Sumner  said :  "  It  is  profitable  as  a  men- 
tal discipline,  even  if  one  does  not  intend  to  practise 
it."  Yet  few  lawyers  attain  lasting  fame.  A  writer 
in  the  Chicago  Tribune  challenges  any  one  to  name 
six  eminent  lawyers  whose  reputation  has  lasted  a 
century.  Those  who  gain  somewhat  of  immortalit}'  do 
so  by  virtue  of  being  judges,  statesmen,  or  authors. 
Eldon  is  an  example  of  the  first  class;  Webster  of 
the  second ;  Coke,  Blackstouo,  Kent  and  Story  of  the 
third;  while  Bacon  belongs  to  all  three.  Erskino  is 
the  only  example  of  an  enduring  fame  won  b}-  an  advo- 
cate, unless  Rufus  Choate  may  be  coupled  witli  him. 


136     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livinfj  ? 

After  a  man  begius  tlie  purauit  of  law  he  finds,  as 
W.  H.  Seward  linmorously  said,  "  She  is  coy  and 
difficult  to  overtake."  A  briefless  barrister  is  a  type 
of  forlorn  failure ;  a  successful  one  max  be  the  slave  of 
toil,  but  the  excitement  and  the  fees  balance  the  labor. 
Lawyers  do  not  require  any  capital  but  their  skill 
and  industry,  they  earn  sufficient  to  live  as  well  as 
business  men,  and  they  do  not  run  the  risk  of  losses 
which  the  latter  do,  while  they  have  far  less  worry — 
and  care. 

While  the  legal  profession  is  conservative,  yet  its 
great  lights  have  always  led  the  van  of  progress. 
Our  history  would  be  a  poor  tale  without  the  great 
advocates.  A  great  lawyer  is  a  great  man.  Theodore 
Parker,  and  in  no  voice  of  flattery,  called  Daniel 
Webster  "my  king." 

The  daily  routine  of  a  lawyer's  office  is  concerned 
with  many  things  beside  litigation.  All  sorts  of  ser- 
vices besides  going  to  court  have  to  be  performed  for 
clients ;  for  example,  searching  real-estate  titles,  draw- 
ing contracts,  leases  and  other  papers,  carrying  on  ne- 
gotiations to  avoid  future  trouble.  Then  there  are 
corjiorations  to  be  formed,  syndicates  to  be  planned 
and  advised,  wills  and  mortgages  to  be  drawn,  assign- 
ments by  bankrupt  firms.  One  set  of  clerks  will  be 
occupied  in  preparing  and  serving  papers,  and  will 
attend  to  motions  in  the  courts ;  others  will  manage 
the  real-estate  business  of  the  office ;  one  clerk  will 
search  authorities  after  the  principal  has  indicated  the 
general  lines  that  he  wishes  investigated.  Thus  all 
work  together,  so  that  a  large  law-office  is  quite  a 
business  machine.  Something  more  than  mere  book- 
knowledge  is  therefore  requisite  in  the  beginner,  and 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livimj  ?      137 

the  more  adaptability  lie  has,  the  more  useful  he  can 
make  himself.  As  great  artists  iu  the  past  allotted 
minor  details  to  their  assistants,  to  one  a  part  of  a 
figure,  to  another  a  tree  or  drapery,  and  to  a  third  a 
background ;  or  as  a  great  architect  makes  a  general 
design  and  leaves  it  to  his  draughtsmen  to  work  out  the 
details,  so  in  an  important  lawsuit  the  jimior  clerk 
can  make  himself  useful  and  gain  valuable  experience 
b}^  attending  to  the  preparation  of  the  case. 

The  public  imagine  that  court  practice  is  the  chief 
occupation  of  lawyers.  This  is  a  mistake.  Many 
lawyers  consider  the  time  spent  iu  court  as  of  least 
importance.  They  dei)lore  the  great  waste  of  time 
caused  by  delays.  The  most  lucrative  work  is  that 
of  counselling  clients  and  drawing  papers  in  one's 
office.  Large  firms  and  corporations  frequently  en- 
gage a  lawyer's  whole  time,  and  his  most  valuable 
service  is  trying  to  avoid  litigation. 

A  veteran  lawyer  describes  the  old-time  methods 
of  study  in  the  old-fashioned  office.  The  lawyer  sat 
iu  the  same  room  with  his  30ung  men,  or  at  farthest 
iu  the  next;  all  studied  hard  when  he  was  by,  and  en- 
gaged in  a  good  deal  of  desultory  talk  when  he  was 
out.  The  copying  by  hand  of  the  various  legal  pa- 
pers which  impressed  their  forms  upon  the  mind ;  the 
knowing  all  about  their  master's  cases  and  going  to 
court  punctually  to  hoar  him  speak;  the  firm  convic- 
tion that  he  was  a  head  and  shoulders  taller  than 
anybody  else ;  the  friendly  but  informal  examination, 
for  which,  as  no  one  knew  when  it  would  liapi)eu, 
there  could  be  no  cramming — all  these,  as  Thackeray 
says,  are  "pleasant  memories  and  no  mistake." 

Charles  O'Couor  is  an  example  of  a  groat  lawyer 


138     JVhat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

who  was  taught  in  such  a  school.  In  1820  he  began 
to  study  with  a  West  Indian  who  was  intemi^erate. 
O'Conor  soon  left  him  to  enter  an  office  with  one  Fay, 
who  knew  little  law  but  who  had  some  law-books, 
which  O'Conor  studied  assiduously.  He  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1824.  Five  years  later  he  made 
an  argument  in  the  Diver  vs.  McLaughlin  case,  which 
is  copied  in  Kent's  "Commentaries"  and  in  other 
authorities. 

Ex-President  Woolsey  says:  "When  Koman  law 
was  reaching  its  mature  form,  distinguished  lawyers 
received  students  into  their  houses,  not  for  pay,  but 
to  train  those  who  had  no  law-books."  Cicero  was 
thus  placed  by  his  father  with  Q.  Muncius  Scaevola. 
When  Eoman  law  under  the  emperors  became  a  com- 
plicated 83stem,  schools  were  established  for  its  study. 
In  Justinian's  time,  there  was  one  law-school  at  Rome 
and  two  at  Constantinople.  The  modern  university 
system  began  with  the  revised  study  of  law  at  Bo- 
logna, in  the  twelfth  century.  In  the  seventeenth 
century,  the  English  Inns  of  Court  provided  societies 
into  which  young  men  desiring  to  become  lawyers 
could  be  admitted  for  study.  In  the  United  States, 
as  with  theology  and  medicine,  law-students  had  re- 
course to  private  instructors.  A  law-school  was 
founded  at  Litchfield,  Conn.,  in  1784,  from  which 
many  prominent  lawyers  graduated. 

A  writer  in  The  Nation  asserts :  "  In  the  opportuni- 
ties of  obtaining  a  good  legal  education  we  long  ago 
took  the  lead,  and  American  lawyers  in  the  Harvard 
and  Yale  and  Columbia  law-schools  have  a  set  of 
institutions  M^iich  are  fair  subjects  for  boasting." 

Of  late  there  has  been  a  stead  v  advance  in  the  re- 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      139 

quirementa  for  admission  to  law-schools.  Students 
were  formerly  received  at  Columbia  Law-School  who 
could  not  have  entered  the  freshman  class  in  any  first- 
class  college.  In  consequence  of  the  greater  require- 
ments the  attendance  declined  from  625  in  1890-91 
to  270  in  1893.  This  change  was  in  the  interest  both 
of  the  i^ublic  and  of  the  legal  profession.  The  require- 
ments are  still  not  high,  and  any  graduate  of  a  high 
school  can  easih'  meet  them.  On  the  other  hand, 
after  Professor  Langdell  introduced  the  scientific 
study  of  law  at  Harvard  the  attendance  rose  from  154 
students  in  1870  to  404  in  1893,  showing  that  there 
is  a  demand  ff)r  the  best  obtainable  training. 

In  New  York  State  a  candidate  for  admission  to  the 
bar  must  serve  for  three  years  in  a  practising  attor- 
ney's  office.  A  deduction  of  one  year  is  made  if  the 
student  is  a  college  graduate,  while  another  year  may 
be  spent  at  a  law-school  instead  of  in  an  office. 

Professor  Dicey  insists  that  without  some  instruc- 
tion in  legal  principles  the  law  is  rarely  more  than 
half  learned,  even  in  the  course  of  the  most  active 
practice.  Chief  Justice  Waite  declared  that  "  the  time 
has  gone  by  when  an  eminent  lawj-er  in  full  practice 
could  take  a  class  of  students  into  his  office  and  become 
their  teacher.     Law-schools  are  now  a  necessity." 

The  Columbia  College  Law-School  may  be  taken 
as  a  type.  The  course  of  study  occupies  two  3^ ears. 
The  first  year  is  occupied  in  the  study  of  general 
commentaries  upon  municipal  law,  law  of  contracts 
and  of  real  estate.  The  curriculum  of  the  second 
year  includes  the  study  of  eiiuity,  jurisprudence, 
commercial  and  admiralty  law,  criminal  law,  endence, 
pleading  and  practice.     The  students  are  required  to 


140     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

draw  pleadings  and  contracts,  while  courts  are  held 
every  week.  There  are  three  students'  clubs,  at  which 
cases  are  argued  and  legal  dissertations  read.  Any 
l^ersou  of  good  moral  character  is  admitted.  The 
tuition  fees  are  $100  per  annum,  and  diploma  fees  S5. 
A  student  who  attends  for  eighteen  months  is  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  without  further  examination. 

A  lawyer  asserts  that  "  the  ordinary  work  of  the 
profession  makes  very  slender  demands  on  either  intel- 
lectual capacity  or  learning.  There  are  few  really 
good  lawyers  who  know  the  law,  and  still  fewer  good 
speakers.  The  great  run  of  lawyers  are  content  to 
scramble  on  with  mouthfuls  of  law  picked  up  from 
day  to  daj^  as  occasion  requires,  trusting  to  text- 
books and  luck  for  getting  up  the  necessary  informa- 
tion when  a  call  for  advice  happens  to  be  made." 

This,  however,  can  be  said  of  every  calling.  But  few 
are  thorough ;  the  many  are  superficial  and  shiftless. 

Formerly  it  required  seven  years'  study  to  gain 
admission  to  the  New  York  bar,  unless  one  had  grad- 
uated from  a  law-school.  Gradually  greater  laxity 
crept  in,  and  hundreds  of  clerks  and  copyists  were  ad- 
mitted to  practice.  In  1871  the  official  examiners 
rejected  twenty-one  out  of  thirty-one  applicants,  and 
were  impressed  with  the  utter  incompetency  of  those 
rejected.  Since  then  a  higher  standard  has  been  en- 
forced. 

Legal  studies,  if  not  supplemented  by  broad  cul- 
ture, have  a  narrowing  effect.  To  be  merely  a  law- 
yer is  not  enough.  The  law  student  should  ever 
bear  in  mind  the  noble  words  of  Boliugbroke :  "  A 
lawyer  now  is  nothing  more;  I  speak  of  ninety -nine 
in  a  hundred  at  least.     But  there  have  been  lawyers 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      141 

that  were  orators,  philosophers,  historians;  there 
have  been  Bacons  and  Clarendons.  There  will  be 
none  such  any  more,  till,  in  some  better  age,  true  am- 
bition or  the  love  of  fame  prevails  over  avarice ;  and 
till  men  find  leisure  and  encouragement  to  prepare 
themselves  for  the  exercise  of  this  profession  by 
climbing  up  the  vantage-ground,  so  my  Lord  Bacon 
calls  it,  of  science,  instead  of  grovelling  all  their  lives 
below,  in  a  mean  but  gainful  application  to  all  the 
little  arts  of  chicane." 

It  is  well  to  have  a  hobby,  and  take  an  interest  in 
some  avocation  which  will  rest  and  refresh  the  mind. 

Provost  S.  T.  Wallis,  in  an  address  to  the  law-class 
of  the  University  of  Maryland,  showed  the  folly  of 
the  opinion  that  a  lawyer  should  read  nothing  but 
law.  "  History  has  no  record  of  a  great  advocate  whose 
genius  and  culture  were  not  above  his  office."  While 
he  favored  the  mixed  system  of  academical  and  office 
instruction,  he  preferred  the  latter.  He  dissented 
from  Sir  Koundell  Palmer,  as  to  "All  lecture,"  and 
concurred  with  Sir  John  Coleridge,  that  "  to  teach 
English  law  by  lectures  alone  is  a  pure  delusion. 
The  tendency  of  the  office,"  he  says,  "to  sharpen  and 
render  men  technical  must  bo  met  and  counteracted 
by  that  larger  exercise  of  thought  which  expands  the 
intellect." 

Chief  Justice  Kussell  considers  a  university  train- 
ing indispensable  for  a  lawyer.  This  is  the  English 
view.  On  the  other  hand.  Judge  O.  W.  Holmes  of 
Massachusetts  thinks  that  for  a  "  fighting  success"  a 
university  education  is  not  essential.  He  even  hints 
that  it  may  be  an  impediment.  "If  a  young  man," 
he  says,  "  can  afford  two  or  even  three  years  in  a  law- 


142       What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

school,  be  will  not  regret  a  month  of  it  when  ho  comes 
to  practise."  Of  the  289  lawyers  in  Congress  in  1897, 
131  were  college  graduates,  48  had  spent  some  time 
at  a  college  or  a  professional  school,  while  110  had 
received  only  a  common-school  education. 

A  prominent  New  York  lawyer  says :  "  One  needs 
a  broad  foundation  of  general  knowledge  nowadays  to 
succeed  at  the  bar.  The  men  who  enter  college  and 
the  law-school  usually  surpass  those  who  do  not  enjoy 
such  advantages.  The  latter  become  justices  of  the 
I)eace  or  small  conveyancers.  They  are  content  with 
petty  fees  because  they  are  not  fitted  for  anything 
better." 

The  career  of  Warrington  in  "Pendennis"  de- 
scribes the  experience  of  hundreds  of  budding  at- 
torneys who  earn  a  livelihood  by  literary  work  while 
waiting  for  clients. 

A  prominent  New  Yorker  advised  his  son,  when  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar,  not  to  take  a  position  offered  him 
by  a  law-firm,  but  to  start  for  himself.  He  said :  "  I 
was  afraid  that  he  would  depend  upon  other  people. 
I  thought  he  would  gain  more  self-reliance  if  on  his 
own  hook."  In  the  same  spirit  Edward  Everett  Hale 
said :  "  When  my  son  comes  out  of  Harvard,  he  must 
go  a  thousand  miles  from  Boston,  to  escape  from  his 
father's  shadow." 

If  it  is  a  matter  of  choice,  it  is  better  for  a  beginner 
to  enter  a  medium-sized  office  than  a  large  one.  In 
one  case  the  student  can  obtain  an  insight  into  de- 
tails, while  in  the  other  he  must  be  ignorant  of  much 
that  is  going  on  around  him  and  will  gain  far  less  in- 
formation and  experience. 

The  country  lawyer  studies  hard,  works  slower  but 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Bo  for  a  Living  ?      143 

mucli  longer  hours  than  his  city  brother,  aud  earns 
smaller  fees.  He  is  filled  with  envy  and  astonishment 
at  the  incomes  reported  of  the  great  "legal  lights," 
but  he  forgets  how  large  a  share  of  these  incomes 
goes  for  office  expenses.  Country  practice  sharpens 
the  wits,  but  often  makes  men  narrow.  Such  a 
lawyer  as  Judge  Noah  Davis  comes  to  New  York  and 
finds  himself  at  once  the  peer  of  other  lawyers,  but 
not  every  man  can  meet  metropolitan  demands. 
Petty  S(iuabbles  about  fence  lines  and  trespassing 
are  hardly  fit  to  make  a  great  legal  luminary.  Yet 
there  are  "  princes  of  pettifoggers"  in  New  York  as 
well  as  in  smaller  places.  It  was  the  country  that 
developed  Lincoln,  Seward,  Clay  and  Chase,  and  it 
would  be  hard  to  match  them  in  any  court  in  the 
land. 

A  well-known  lawyer,  discussing  the  prospects  of 
young  attorneys,  said  the  first  choice  of  work  was 
often  what  interfered  with  their  success.  "  In  their 
anxiety  to  make  a  start  they  take  up  collection  and 
similar  lines  of  business,  and  never  become  anything 
more.  If  a  man  is  compelled  to  do  whatever  offers, 
there  is  no  help  for  him.  I  would  advise  any  young 
lawyer  to  wait  as  long  as  possible  before  he  engages 
in  work  of  this  kind." 

Mr.  Lincoln,  when  asked  as  to  the  best  mode  of 
studying  law,  answered  sententiously :  "  Get  the 
books  and  read  them  carefully.  Begin  with  Black- 
stone,  and  after  reading  it  carefully  through,  say 
twice,  take  up  Chitty's  '  Pleading,'  Greenleaf's  '  EW- 
dence,' and  Story's  '  Ecpiity'  in  succession.  Work, 
work,  work  is  the  main  thing."  A.  J.  Vanderpoel 
considered  that  hard  work  was  the  main  essential. 


144     What  Slwdl  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

The  secret  of  his  own  career  lay  simply  in  learning 
all  that  was  to  be  learned  of  each  case  before  it  came 
to  trial.  The  following  description  shows  with  what 
vast  toil  Rufus  Clioate  won  his  great  honors  at  the 
bar.  "He  died  daily,  retiring  to  bed  exhausted, 
under  groat  nervous  prostration,  with  headache.  Yet 
he  would  rise  early,  often  long  before  daylight,  and 
take  a  light  breakfast  before  his  family  or  busi- 
ness claimed  his  attention.  His  clients,  the  courts 
and  classics  compelled  long  days  and  short  nights.  I 
called  upon  him  once  in  the  afternoon,  and  asked  him 
how  early  the  next  morning  I  could  confer  with  him 
ux)on  a  matter  I  wished  to  investigate  during  the 
evening.  'As  early  as  you  please,  sir;  I  shall  be 
up.'  '  Do  you  mean  before  breakfast,  Mr.  Choate?  ' 
'Before  light,  if  you  wish.'  I  called  at  the  earliest 
dawn,  and  found  him  at  his  standing  table,  with  a 
shade  over  his  eyes,  under  a  brilliant  light,  pressing 
forward  some  treatise  upon  Greek  literature,  which 
he  said  he  hoped  to  live  long  enough  to  give  to  the 
public.  The  night  had  restored  his  wearied  powers ; 
he  was  elastic,  as  cheery  and  brilliant  as  the  stars  I 
had  left  shining  above  us." 

A  Boston  lawyer  who  entered  more  cases  for  trial 
in  that  city  than  any  of  his  rivals,  invariably  reached 
his  office  at  7:30  a.m.  He  was  once  called  upon  at 
that  hour  by  A.  T.  Stewart,  who  had  come  to  Bos- 
ton to  transact  some  law  business,  and  had  brought 
an  introduction  to  three  Boston  lawyers.  As  the 
other  two  were  not  to  be  found,  and  as  the  mat- 
ter needed  immediate  attention,  Mr.  Stewart   called 

upon  him  and  said  he  would  be  pleased  if  Mr.  

would  take  the  case.     This  was  done,  and  Mr.  Stew- 


What  SIkiU  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?     145 

art  remained  this  lawyer's  client  until  his  own 
death. 

I  have  watched  the  early  career  of  a  number  of  New 
York  lawyers.  Manj-  of  them  while  acting  as  clerks 
made  the  acquaintance  of  clients  who  either  gave  them 
small  cases  which  were  not  worth  the  attention  of  the 
firm,  or  retained  them  out  of  personal  liking.  Half 
a  dozen  students  in  one  office  have  succeeded  on  their 
own  account,  while  one  of  them  has  since  become  a 
partner  of  his  former  employer.  Often  a  young  man 
wins  his  professional  spurs  by  his  zeal  and  energy 
in  some  si)ecial  case.  Walter  S.  Logan  worked  up 
the  details  of  the  Madame  Jumel  case  for  Charles 
O' Conor.  Albert  Stickney  was  John  T.  Parsons' 
chief  aid  in  the  Barnard  and  Cardoza  impeachment 
cases.  Horace  E.  Deming  gained  reputation  by  his 
valuable  work  for  municipal  reform  in  Brooklyn. 
A.  B.  Whitney,  through  his  active  share  in  the  tariff- 
reform  movement,  was  made  Assistant  Attorney -Gen- 
eral of  the  United  States.  I  well  remember  Wil- 
liam C.  Whitney  when  he  began  practice.  He  showed 
the  same  courtesy,  kindness  and  ability  then  which 
have  since  made  him  popular.  Twenty  years  after 
these  early  days  I  happened  to  meet  him  in  the 
Lawyers'  Club.  He  instantly  called  me  by  name, 
showing  his  extraordinary  memory  for  faces  and 
names. 

A  curious  anecdote  is  worth  citing  as  illustrating 
the  effect  of  painstaking  effort  in  preparing  a  case. 
When  Senator  Morton  was  a  young  lawyer,  ho  had 
a  case  the  success  of  which  depended  upon  a  single 
authority,  which  he  could  not  find,  even  after  the  most 
earnest  search.  The  case  was  set  for  the  next  morn- 
10 


146     What  Sliall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livvicj  ? 

ing.  That  night  in  a  dream  the  volume,  the  number 
"of  the  page,  and  even  the  opening  sentence  came  to 
him.  He  hurriedly  dressed  and  walked  to  his  office, 
where  he  found  the  decision  just  as  presented  in  his 
dream.  Before  noon  he  had  won  his  case.  This 
I^henomeuon  is  not  an  uncommon  one  and  may  be 
explained  psychologically.  Had  the  future  great 
war  governor  not  striven  so  hard  in  search  of  his 
authorities,  his  brain  would  not  have  been  stimulated 
to  such  activity  that  his  memory  acted  in  his  sleep. 

Sir  Alexander  Cockburn  used  to  tell  how,  while  he 
was  Solicitor-General,  he  brought  home  the  famous 
Kugely  murder  to  the  guilty  party.  Palmer,  the 
murderer,  was  an  expert  chemist,  and  had,  as  he 
thought,  completely  covered  up  the  traces  of  his  poi- 
sonings. Sir  Alexander  was  convinced  of  his  guilt, 
and  for  weeks  studied,  day  and  night,  the  effects  of 
various  poisons  on  the  human  system.  He  then 
called  together  a  council  of  medical  friends  and  made 
them  examine  him  as  to  his  knowledge  of  toxicology, 
and  it  was  the  knowledge  of  this  subject  that  enabled 
him  to  bring  the  murderer  to  the  gallows.  Palmer 
remarked  shortly  before  his  execution  that  nothing 
but  the  skill  of  the  Solicitor-General  could  have 
proved  him  guilty. 

Eloquence  alone  will  not  make  a  successful  advo- 
cate, and  the  most  brilliant  debater  may  fail  at  the 
law.  In  every  step  of  advancement,  from  copyist  to 
leading  counsel,  untiring  and  constant  labor  is  de- 
manded. Look  at  Evarts,  O' Conor  and  Choate.  See 
how  they  toiled  over  cases,  working  over  the  midnight 
lamp,  and  then  sitting  all  day  in  ill-ventilated  court- 
rooms trying  cases.     Nothing  but  its  long  summer 


JVJiat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      147 

vacation  and  Saturday'  holidays  saves  the  profession 
from  physical  break-down. 

Erskine  thus  describes  the  requisites  of  success  at 
the  bar:  "Be  steady  in  your  exertions,  read  3- our 
briefs  thoroughly,  let  jowr  arguments  be  learned,  and 
your  speech  to  juries  be  animated. "  A  famous  lawyer 
says  that  his  success  has  been  largely  due  to  cultivat- 
ing a  knowledge  of  ethical  principles,  which  is  the 
basis  of  all  law.  A  man  of  this  {juality  seldom  errs 
in  his  judgment. 

Self-possession  and  readiness  are  invaluable  in  deal- 
ing with  judges  and  juries.  While  Theoi^hilus  Par- 
sons was  arguing  a  case,  an  opponent  took  a  piece  of 
chalk  and  wrote  upon  Parsons'  hat:  "This  is  the  hat 
of  a  damned  rascal."  Parsons,  turning  to  the  bench, 
said :  "  I  crave  the  protection  of  the  court.  Brother 
Sullivan  has  been  stealing  my  hat  and  writing  his 
own  name  upon  it." 

Sir  Alexander  Cockburn,  when  an  unknown  barris- 
ter, defended  a  man  charged  with  the  killing  of  a  noted 
duelist  who  had  forced  a  quarrel  on  him.  Cockburn 
addressed  the  jury  brie%  and  to  the  point.  In  clos- 
ing he  said :  "  Gentlemen,  my  learned  friend  has  told 
you  that  this  is  murder.  I  know  that  it  is  no  murder, 
and  you  know  that  it  is  no  murder."  The  jury  found 
the  prisoner  not  guilty. 

Sir  Samuel  Mai-tin  bore  in  mind  the  golden  rule 
not  to  perplex  the  jury  with  too  many  details,  but  to 
put  his  best  point  to  them,  and  to  put  it  strongly. 
As  a  judge  he  likewise  sought  to  reduce  matters  to  a 
small  compass.  After  a  mass  of  contradictory  evi- 
dence and  long  speeches  in  a  case,  he  summed  up  as 
follows:  "Gentlemen  of  the  jury,  you  have  heard  the 


148     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

evidence  and  the  speeches  of  the  learned  counsel.  If 
you  believe  the  old  woman  in  red,  you  will  find  the 
prisoner  guilty ;  if  you  do  not  believe  her,  you  will 
find  the  prisoner  not  guilty." 

Of  Sergeant  Parry,  a  famous  English  advocate,  Mr, 
Smalley  writes :  "  If  he  did  not  know  something  per- 
sonally of  each  one  of  the  twelve  men  he  set  himself 
to  convince  or  cajole,  he  worked  on  a  set  of  general 
principles,  the  result  of  vast  experience,  and  he  was 
seldom  at  fault.  Tact  he  had  in  a  large  measure : 
the  tact  which  consisted  in  not  pressing  a  point  where 
he  saw  the  judge  or  \m:y  were  against  him ;  in  not 
bullying  witnesses ;  in  not  wrangling  with  the  bench 
or  with  his  '  friend '  on  the  other  side ;  above  all,  in 
not  running  counter  to  any  sympathies  or  antipathies 
of  the  Jury,  and  in  never  risking  a  verdict  for  the  sake 
of  display.  The  first  time  you  saw  him  you  thought 
you  had  at  last  found  a  lawyer  who  really  had  equally 
at  heart  the  interests  of  his  client  and  the  interests  of 
justice.  By  the  time  you  had  seen  him  go  through 
the  same  performance  in  half  a  dozen  cases,  good  and 
bad,  you  had  to  relinquish  this  pleasing  delusion,  for 
in  every  case  he  identified  himseK  in  just  the  same 
way  with  the  merits  or  demerits  of  the  side  he  repre- 
sented." 

A  lawj' er  was  once  retained  as  associate  counsel  in 
an  important  case.  He  sat  in  court  for  nearly  two 
daj^s  perfectly  silent,  until  his  client  impatiently  asked 

the  other  lawyer :  "  What  in  thunder  is  D doing 

to  earn  his  $2,000  fee?"  Presently,  when  certain  evi- 
dence was  submitted,  the  associate  counsel  rose  and 
objected.  "  On  what  grounds  ?"  asked  the  judge.  The 
associate  counsel  briefl}^  stated  them.     The  judge  dis- 


What  Slmll  Our  Bm/s  Do  for  a  Living  ?      149 

missed  the  case,  which  eiitirel}'  hiuged  ou  tlie  prin- 
cii)le  of  law  which  he  had  laid  down.  When  the  client 
paid  the  82,000  fee  he  said :  "  I  now  see  the  value  of 
patience." 

Mr.  Speed  says  of  Lincoln's  earlj-  law  career: 
"After  his  first  year  he  was  acknowledged  to  be 
among  the  best  lawj-ers  in  the  State.  His  analytical 
powers  were  marvellous.  He  always  resolved  every 
question  into  its  primar}-  elements,  and  gave  up  every 
point  on  his  own  side  that  did  not  seem  in\nilnerable. 
One  would  think  to  hear  him  argue  a  case  in  court  he 
was  giving  his  case  away.  He  would  concede  point 
after  point  to  his  adversary  UDtil  it  would  seem  his 
case  was  conceded  entirely  away.  But  he  always  re- 
served a  point  upon  which  he  claimed  a  decision  in 
his  favor,  and  his  concessions  magnified  the  strength 
of  his  claim.  He  rarely  failed  to  gain  his  cases  in 
court. " 

Sergeant  Ballantine,  who  had  an  extensive  criminal 
practice,  and  whose  forte  was  cross-examination,  sel- 
dom Ijullied  a  hostile  witness,  but  insinuatingly  in- 
duced him  to  believe  that  ho  was  in  the  hands  of  a 
friend,  and  then  gradually  led  him  into  a  trap. 

In  collecting,  sifting  and  i)reparing  evidence  there 
is  room  for  the  exercise  of  peculiar  (xualities.  In 
cross-examining  witnesses  one  should  be  alert,  shrewd 
and  persistent,  but  not  too  pressing.  Knowledge  of 
human  nature  is  invaluable  in  this  work.  In  address- 
ing a  jury  much  depends  upon  personal  manner; 
therefore  cultivate  a  graceful,  easy  bearing,  unfailiug 
courtesy  and  an  insinuating  address.  By  simply  as- 
suming a  tone  that  implies  that  certain  disputed  facts 
are  absolutely  true,  one  can  exert  great  influence. 


150     What  Shall  Our  Boijfi  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

The  day  has  gone  by  for  the  old-fashioned  oratori- 
cal displays.  Neither  judges  nor  juries,  in  the  large 
cities  at  least,  care  to  listen  to  them.  The  best  law- 
yers cultivate  a  conversational  tone  in  addressing  a 
jiiry,  and  aim  simply  to  be  clear  and  exact  in  present- 
ing a  point  of  law  to  a  judge. 

Judges  are  often  prejudiced  and  pragmatical,  and 
a  law3'er  needs  to  exercise  patience  and  self-control 
before  them.  A  scientific  expert  whom  I  once  chal- 
lenged to  write  a  book  on  electricity  which  a  child 
could  understand  said :  "  If  I  have  been  able  to  make 
a  judge  on  the  bench  comprehend  a  scientific  prin- 
ciple, I  think  I  can  make  it  clear  to  children." 

I  have  been  interested  in  gathering  the  suggestions 
made  by  leaders  of  the  bar  to  graduating  classes  at 
the  law-schools.  Professor  Dwight  urged  his  stu- 
dents to  secure  mental  discipline,  together  with  wide 
and  deep  learning.  They  should,  he  said,  cultivate 
vivacity  of  spirit,  and  endeavor  to  gain  the  power  of 
simple  and  clear  exposition,  so  that  the  most  unlet- 
tered juryman  might  understand  them.  The  art  of 
making  useful  acquaintances  and  holding  them  was 
not  always  understood  by  young  practitioners. 

Charles  O' Conor  laid  special  stress  on  the  impor- 
tance of  securing  a  perfect  knowledge  of  all  the  facts 
in  every  case.  He  said :  "  A  knowledge  of  received 
principles  is  indeed  necessary;  but  if  a  distinction 
can  be  imagined  between  two  things,  a  precise  knowl- 
edge of  the  facts  is  still  more  needful.  The  acquisi- 
tion of  science  demands  only  common  attention  and 
common  sense,  and  may  be  the  harmonious  result  of 
years  of  pure  study  along  consistent  lines  of  thought. 
But  the  readiness  of  the  swordsman,  and  the  acuteness 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      151 

of  the  practical  detective,  are  tasked  in  the  efforts 
sometimes  needed  to  acquire  a  perfect  knowledge  of 
the  numerous  and  complicated  facts  of  a  particular 
case." 

James  W.  Gerard,  in  addressing  the  law-students 
of  New  York  University,  said :  "  The  profession  re- 
quires all  the  student's  time  and  attention.  Solid 
reading  develops  the  mind,  but  light  literature  dulls, 
and  amusements  lead  to  a  life  of  ease  and  inactivity. 
There  is  plenty  of  room  for  beginners  who  are  ambi- 
tious, self-reliant  and  pushing.  Two-thirds  of  New 
York  lawyers  are  dilettanti.  The  best  lawyers  come 
from  out  of  town.  Great  lawyers  seldom  have  had 
great  lawyers  as  their  sons.  Necessity  makes  the 
lawyer  in  almost  every  case."  He  advised  young 
men  to  be  courteous  to  clients,  witnesses,  judge  and 
jury,  to  make  all  the  acquaintances  they  could,  and 
cultivate  self-reliance  and  ease  in  speaking. 

Justice  Miller  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court, 
in  addressing  the  Iowa  Bar  Association,  laid  great 
stress  ui)on  the  labor  needed  to  gain  success  at  the  bar. 
"The  practice  of  law,"  he  says,  "is  an  art,  and  be- 
sides possessing  a  sound  judgment,  a  clear  head  and 
well-developed  reasoning  powers,  these  faculties  must 
be  cultivated  by  the  severest  training.  It  is  a  very 
common  error,  when  a  lawyer  has  adroitly  made  an 
unwilling  witness  tell  the  truth,  or,  more  frequeuth% 
when  he  has  made  a  tolling  argument  to  court  or  jury, 
delivered  with  a  captivating  ease  and  grace,  for  the 
ordinary  listener  to  imagine  that  it  cost  no  labor  or 
trouble.  But  the  experienced  opponent,  or  the  ob- 
serving judge,  could  see  without  difficulty  that  the 
apparently  artless  impromptu  address  was  the  perfec- 


152     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

tiou  of  art  itself,  concealing  the  long  and  laborious 
stud}^  previously  given  to  the  case  and  careful  sys- 
tematic  mode  of  i^resenting  it,  determined  on  before 
the  orator  had  opened  his  mouth.  All  this  is  the 
result  of  training,  of  constant  and  thoughtful  criticism 
on  your  own  style,  of  careful  preparation  for  every 
occasion,  of  a  review,  after  the  effort  is  over,  of  the 
manner  in  which  it  has  been  made,  and  a  considerate 
resolution  to  profit  in  future  by  any  failure  or  defects 
that  may  be  discovered. 

When  Chancellor  Kent,  then  a  young  country  law- 
yer, applied  to  Alexander  Hamilton  and  John  Jay 
for  advice  about  his  future,  he  was  told :  "  Go  to  the 
civil  law.  Eead  deeper  than  we  have  had  the  time 
to  do.  There  is  a  great  daj^  coming  in  America  for 
lawyers." 

Webster  had  a  wonderful  instinct  for  grasping  the 
heart  of  a  question,  and  a  native  cajjacity  for  close 
logical  reasoning  and  for  telling  retort.  These  facul- 
ties were  developed  h\  arduous  labor  and  careful  study 
of  his  opponents.  While  a  law-student  in  Boston  he 
laboriously  made  abstracts  from  the  Latin  and  Nor- 
man-French pleadings  in  Saunders'  Reports,  and 
spent  laborious  nights  and  days  over  Bacon,  Puffen- 
dorf,  and  Eaceus,  thus  lajdng  the  foundation  of  the 
legal  lore  which  he  afterward  displayed.  He  said  to 
Senator  Morrill:  "I  don't  pretend  to  be  inspired.  I 
bring  nothing  without  labor." 

Appearances  count  for  much  in  every  calling.  A 
well-furnished  office,  like  a  neatly  engrossed  document 
or  tasteful  letter-head,  gives  a  client  or  customer  an 
impression  of  prosperity.  General  Foster  once  drew 
up  a  contract  for  an  Indiana  railroad  on  an  ordinary 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      153 

letter-sheet,  for  which  he  charged  S250.  As  the  com- 
pany growled,  ho  told  them  to  try  a  certain  high-priced 
lawyer  next  time.  They  did  so.  The  other  lawyer 
borrowed  from  Foster  the  copy  of  the  old  contract. 
He  had  it  neatly  engrossed  and  charged  $2,500.  The 
company  felt  satisfied  that  they  had  a  contract  that 
would  hold  water,  and  paid  his  bill  without  a  murmur. 

A  lawyer  should  be  deliberate  and  not  give  hast}' 
opinions.  Let  him  say  to  his  client :  "  If  you  will 
call  to-morrow,  I  will  state  my  conclusions  in  the 
matter." 

A  well-trained  lawyer  should  know  as  if  by  instinct 
what  is  the  law  in  a  given  case.  He  decides  first  in 
his  own  mind  what  is  right;  in  the  main  the  law 
should  agree  with  this.  He  then  finds  decisions  to 
confirm  his  first  opinion.  This  was  the  method  of 
Chief  Justice  Marshall,  who  could  write  out  his 
opinion  in  a  case  and  hand  it  to  Story,  with  the 
remark :  "  That  is  the  law ;  now  find  the  decisions  to 
sustain  it." 

To  every  bright  young  lawyer  I  would  say,  with 
Tom  Corwin,  "Don't  be  funnj-."  Never  yield  to  the 
temptation  to  be  a  wit,  or  to  become  a  brilliant  after- 
dinner  speaker.  Great  roi^utations  are  not  made  in 
that  way.  The  world  may  laugh  at  the  jester,  but  it 
does  not  "  tie  to  him"  as  it  does  to  serious-minded 
men.  Lincoln's  little  stories  were  admired  not 
merely  for  their  humor,  but  for  their  profound  wis- 
dom. They  did  not  detract  from  his  reputation  for 
seriousness.  Garfield  once  in  early  life  was  tempted 
to  make  humorous  speeches.  He  quickly  saw  it 
wouldn't  do,  and  avoided  the  pit  into  which  so  many 
brilliant  men  have  fallen. 


154     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

Every  professional  man  sliould  cultivate  common 
sense  and  avoid  technical  views.  S.  J.  Tilden,  having 
boon  consulted  by  Martin  Van  Buren  in  relation  to 
liis  will,  said :  "  It  is  not  well  to  be  wiser  than  events, 
and  it  would  be  foolish  to  trust  grandchildren  we 
do  not  know  and  distrust  the  children  whom  we  do 
know."  The  following  week  he  received  a  message 
from  Mr.  Van  Buren,  saying  that  he  had  stricken  out 
all  the  elaborate  provisions  of  the  will,  and  had  de- 
termined to  rely  on  the  laws  of  the  country  and  the 
laws  of  nature.  Yet  Mr.  Tilden' s  own  will,  like  that 
of  many  other  famous  lawyers,  was  successfully  con- 
tested after  Lis  death. 

It  is  never  wise  to  make  low  charges.  Sometimes 
a  client  may  object  to  a  large  fee,  but  usually  the 
worth  of  your  service  will  bo  rated  by  the  value  you 
put  upon  it.  Above  all  things  never  give  free  advice 
to  any  one. 

Samuel  J.  Tilden,  who  had  an  immense  practice, 
as  a  rule  charged  very  moderately.  He  also  was 
strongly  opposed  to  contingent  fees.  Henry  L.  Clin- 
ton received  $75,000  in  the  Vanderbilt  will  case,  and 
Scott  Lord  $100,000.  Judge  Comstock  charged 
$50,000.  Clarkson  N.  Potter  received  $100,000  in 
the  Canandaigua  Eailway  foreclosure  suit.  Colonel 
IngersoU  was  paid  the  same  amount  in  the  Star  Koute 
case.  It  is  reported  that  Charles  O' Conor  received 
$75,000  in  the  Jumel  will  case,  and  $100,000  in  the 
Parish  will  case. 

Erskine's  income  when  leader  of  the  English  bar 
never  exceeded  $60,000.  The  highest  fee  he  ever  re- 
ceived for  a  single  case  was  $25,000.  Sir  James  Scar- 
lett had  about  the  same  income.     Sergeant  Ballantine 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Liviufj  ?      155 

received  from  the  government  a  very  large  fee  for 
going  to  Calcutta  to  try  a  murder  case,  but  it  was 
mostly  consumed  in  expenses. 

International  lawyers  are  well  paid.  John  W, 
Foster  received  $100,000  from  the  Chinese  govern- 
ment at  the  time  of  the  Corean  difficulty.  E.  J.  Phelps 
and  James  C.  Carter  have  also  earned  large  fees. 

Those  were  halcyon  days  for  lawyers  in  New  York 
City  when  the  Surrogate  could  divide  a  disputed 
estate  among  the  gentlemen  of  the  bar,  leaving  the 
litigants  nothing.  In  the  Taylor  will  case  the  law- 
yers got  all  the  property,  and  the  widow  had  to  sell 
her  clothes.  In  the  Hardin  will  case  John  K.  Porter 
received  about  $28,000.  George  Ticknor  Curtis  had 
such  a  big  bill  in  an  India-rubber  case  that  he  charged 
$1,000  for  making  it  out.  Many  big  fees  have  been 
received  by  patent  lawyers.  In  the  vulcanite  rubber, 
barbed  iron  fence,  nickel  plating,  burglar  alarm,  sew- 
ing machine,  and  other  patent  cases,  fortunes  were 
paid  to  lawyers.  In  such  cases  the  labors  of  lawyers 
are  enormous,  the  responsibility  is  great,  and  the 
pay  appropriately  large. 

The  temptation  to  a  lawyer  to  take  office  is  hard  to 
resist.  Daniel  Webster,  when  a  struggling  law-stu- 
dent, was  offered  a  $1,500  clerkship.  His  father 
urged  him  to  accept  it,  but  fortunately  he  declined  it, 
and  thus  was  saved  from  what  has  become  the  ruin 
of  many  young  men. 

Chauncey  Depew  says :  "  The  duty  of  a  lawyer  to 
his  jn-ofessiou  and  the  State  compels  him  to  Ije  a 
politician,  but  until  success  is  assured  he  cannot  be 
an  office-holder.  His  training  fits  him  to  educate 
public  sentiment,  but  he  cannot  enter  jjublic  life  with- 


166     What  SJiall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

out  losing  his  practice.  Many  a  young  man  lias  gone 
to  the  Legislature  expecting  to  find,  by  the  acquaint- 
ance and  reputation  it  gives,  a  speedy  road  to  clients 
and  income,  and  has  discovered  that  he  has  perma- 
nently lost  both." 

Nearly  one-fourth  of  the  members  of  the  House  of 
Commons  are  lawyers.  The  United  States  Congress 
has  an  equally  large  proportion  of  lawyers.  In  a  re- 
cent session  of  the  New  York  Legislature  thirty-three 
out  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  members  be- 
longed to  the  legal  profession. 


CHAPTEE  XVm. 

THE  ART   OF  PUBLIC  SPEAKING. 

Practice  Makes  Perfect— Use  of  the  Voice— Condensed  Lan- 
guage— Wendell  Phillips — Skill  in  Debate— Webster's  Mode  of 
Preparation— John  Bright  and  Gambetta— Gesture — Gladstone — 
Bismarck — Emerson — Matthew  Arnold — Don't  Be  Acrimonious 
— Reading  Manuscript — Persuasiveness. 

To  be  able  to  think  and  talk  on  one's  feet  is  an  in- 
valuable accomplishment.  Certain  persons  contend 
that  the  orator's  influence  is  no  longer  to  be  comi^ared 
with  that  of  the  printed  page.  The  achievements  of 
Gladstone,  Gambetta,  Castelar,  Beecher,  Wendell 
Phillips  and  Lincoln  refute  this  statement. 

The  lawyer,  clergyman  and  politician  of  necessity 
should  be  good  speakers,  yet  many  of  them  are  la- 
mentably deficient  in  the  essentials  of  the  art.  It  is 
strange,  therefore,  that  public  speaking  is  so  little 
practised  nowadays  by  young  Americans. 

While  great  orators  possess  special  aptitude  for 
public  speaking,  yet  practice  and  ti-aining  are  needed 
to  develop  even  exceptional  talent.  Demosthenes' 
struggles  to  overcome  his  vocal  deficiencies  might 
be  capped  by  a  score  of  modern  instances.  Daniel 
Webster  was  so  gawky  and  timid  at  Exeter  that  in 
spite  of  every  encouragement  he  was  afraid  to  practise 
declamation.  He  said  to  a  young  clergyman :  "  There 
is  no  such  thing  as  extemporaneous  eloquence.'* 
Peter  Harvey   says  Webster's  speech  in    reply   to 


158      What  Shall  Our  Boijs  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

Hayne  was  substantially  prepared  months  before  its 
delivery.  "If  Hayne  had  tried,"  Webster  said,  "to 
make  a  speech  to  fit  my  notes,  he  could  not  have  hit 
it  better.  No  man  is  inspired  by  the  occasion.  I 
never  was." 

Naturally  the  first  thing  for  a  speaker  to  learn  is 
how  to  use  his  voice. 

Dr.  A.  Riant,  in  "Hygiene  de  I'Orateur,"  gives 
many  useful  suggestions  touching  breathing,  intona- 
tion, attitude,  gesture,  and  what  is  best  for  the 
speaker  to  do  before,  after  and  while  speaking,  to 
insure  the  least  physical  effort. 

Charles  Kings!  ey,  who  stammered  badly,  gave 
these  sensible  suggestions  for  its  cure :  "  Open  your 
mouth.  Take  full  breaths  and  plenty  of  them.  Mind 
your  stops.  Keep  your  tongue  quiet.  Keep  your 
upper  lip  down,  and  use  your  lower  lip.  Read  aloud. 
Read  and  speak  slow,  slow,  slow." 

Mr.  Osgood,  a  writer  on  elocution,  thus  character- 
izes the  common  defects  in  public  speakers;  the 
"throat  clutch,"  the  "jaw  clinch,"  the  "sullen  di'one," 
the  "despondent  tone."  These  are  all  due  to  lack  of 
training.  Mr.  Osgood  adds :  "  The  educated  man  or 
woman  who  has  and  persists  in  an  elocutionary  evil, 
obviously  remediable,  should  suffer  the  same  penalty 
that  follows  the  employment  of  gross  errors  of  gram- 
mar or  of  rhetoric. " 

A  person  who  wishes  to  be  heard  can  hardly  speak 
too  slowly.  Mr.  Bright  said  that  nothing  had  cost  him 
more  trouble  than  to  learn  to  speak  slowly.  A  clear, 
deliberate  utterance  of  every  syllable,  with  pauses  to 
mark  the  stops  at  the  end  of  each  sentence,  does  not 
produce  the  effect  of  tediousness,  but  the  reverse. 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      159 

Henry  Ward  Beecher  spoke  very  distinctly.  I  have 
heard  a  clergyman  i)ut  a  whole  sermon  into  his  pro- 
nunciation of  the  word  dam-na-tion. 

John  Bright  remarked  that  clear  and  distinct  enun- 
ciation was  of  great  importance,  Mr.  Bright' s  own 
speeches  were  an  example  of  this.  Gladstone  had 
admirable  clearness  of  pronunciation  and  modulation. 

A  writer  in  Nature  says :  "  In  singing,  the  musical 
note  is  i>redominant ;  in  speaking,  it  is  secondary  and 
subsidiary  to  the  words,  but  it  still  exists.  An  ap- 
preciation of  this  fact  is  of  the  greatest  value.  Many 
speakers  drop  their  voices  with  a  descending  inflec- 
tion, and  from  want  of  musical  ear  fail  to  raise  them 
again;  others  err  from  excess  of  noise." 

Here  are  some  simple  rules :  Know  exactly  what 
you  intend  to  saj'.  Endeavor  to  forget  youi'self. 
Consider  yourself  one  of  your  audience.  Be  natural 
and  unaffected. 

The  annexed  letter,  which  I  received  from  Wendell 
Phillips,  contains  valuable  advice  to  young  men  about 
public  speaking : 

"April,  '68. 
"  Deae  Sir  : — Your  note  came  while  I  was  out  West. 
I  hasten  to  reply  now  I'm  at  home.  I  think  practice 
with  all  kinds  of  audiences  the  best  teacher  you  can 
have.  Think  out  your  subject  carefully,  read  all  you 
can  relative  thereto,  fill  your  mind,  and  then  talk  sim- 
ply and  naturally  to  an  audience.  Forget  altogether 
that  you  are  going  to  make  a  speech  or  that  you  are 
making  one.  Absorb  yourself  into  the  idea  that  you 
are  to  strike  a  blow,  carry  out  a  purpose,  effect  an  ob- 
ject, impress  an  idea,  recommend  a  plan.     Then,  hav- 


160     WJuit  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livinrj  ? 

ing  forgotten  yourself,  you  will  be  likelier  to  do  your 
best  for  your  purpose.  Study  the  class  of  books  your 
mind  likes;  when  you  go  outside  of  this  rule,  study 
those  which  give  j^ou  facts  on  your  chosen  subjects, 
and  those  which  you  find  most  suggestive.  Remem- 
ber to  talk  up  to  your  audience,  not  down  to  it.  The 
commonest  audience  can  relish  the  best  thing  you 
can  say,  if  you  know  how  to  say  it  properly.  Your 
discipline  heretofore  [as  a  journalist],  if  you  continue 
it,  is  better  than  college,  especially  at  j^our  age. 

"  Be  simple,  be  in  earnest,  and  you  will  not  fail  to 
reach  the  masses,  especially  if  your  heart  is  large 
enough  to  receive  all  truths  and  all  struggles.  God 
speed  you.  Wendell  Phillips.  " 

Every  speaker  should  study  to  express  himself 
in  a  clear,  terse  and  nervous  style.  Two  words  are 
always  better  than  three,  and  all  qualifying  epithets 
should,  so  far  as  possible,  be  omitted.  Webster's 
speeches  and  Lincoln's  Gettysburg  address  are  good 
models  to  follow.  It  will  be  found  excellent  practice 
to  analyze  the  great  masters  of  style  and  try  to  im- 
prove on  their  language.  There  is  no  better  method 
than  to  give  the  pith  of  a  long  statement  clearly,  yet 
in  the  fewest  possible  words.  The  narrative  portions 
of  the  Bible  are  admirable  examples  of  compactness 
and  simplicity.  It  is  rare  that  a  single  word  can  be 
cut  out  without  loss.  Most  lawyers  are  excessively 
diffuse  and  wordy.  They  waste  time  over  trifles,  in- 
stead of  emphasizing  the  vital  points  of  a  case  and 
hammering  them  into  the  minds  of  the  jurors,  as 
Choate  did,  by  constant  yet  varied  repetition.  When 
a  lawyer  boasts  that  he  spoke  for  three  days  in  a  eer- 


WJiat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      161 

tain  case  and  that  the  testimony  occupied  four  thou- 
sand printed  pages,  one  may  feel  sure  that  his  argu- 
ments might  all  have  been  stated  in  two  hours  or 
possibly  less,  and  the  essential  facts  of  the  case 
brought  out  in  a  tithe  of  the  time. 

G.  W.  Smalley  summed  up  Mr.  Gladstone's  powers 
as  consisting  in  "lucidity"  and  "strength  of  state- 
ment. "  He  could  state  a  case  better  than  any  man  in 
England.  He  had  great  copiousness  and  fluency,  but 
his  manner  was  labored  and  his  gesture  somewhat 
ungainly  and  violent.  No  contemporary  Englishman 
has  spoken  so  well,  on  such  a  variety  of  subjects. 
He  once  spoke  for  an  hour  on  the  Budget,  and  without 
a  word  from  the  Opposition  the  House  of  Commons 
voted  the  entire  eleven  million  pounds  asked. 

Sir  Stafford  Northcote,  who  often  crossed  swords 
in  debate  with  Gladstone,  possessed  immense  knowl- 
edge and  admirable  readiness,  and  was  always  listened 
to  with  attention.  Of  him  Smalley  says :  "  No  facts 
or  arguments  suddenly  thrown  at  him  seemed  to  dis- 
concert him.  However  weak  his  own  case  might 
seem,  his  ingenuit}^  could  always  strengthen  it. 
However  powerfully  the  hostile  case  had  been  pre- 
sented, he  never  failed  to  find  weak  places  in  it  and  to 
break  it  down  by  a  succession  of  well-planted  criti- 
cisms, each  apparently  small,  but  damaging  when 
taken  all  together.  His  fluent  grace  was  only  equalled 
by  the  unfailing  skill  with  which  he  shunned  danger- 
ous ground,  and  put  his  i)ropositions  in  a  form  which 
made  it  difficult  to  contradict  them.  He  had  the  art 
of  nibbling  an  argument  away,  admitting  a  little  in 
order  to  evado  or  overthrow  the  rest." 

John  B.  Gough  defined  eloquence  as  the  art  of  com- 
11 


1G2     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  foi'  a  Living  ? 

muuicatiug  foeling.  He  warned  against  the  danger 
of  excess  of  action,  in  spite  of  Demosthenes'  dictum, 
and  cited  Massillon  and  Wendell  Phillips  as  great 
orators  who  used  comparatively  no  gestures.  He  said 
the  old  English  divines  must  have  possessed  the  power 
of  interesting,  when  they  could  preach  four  hours  on 
a  stretch.  The  true  orator  must  forget  self.  He 
must  transmit  light,  like  a  crystal,  without  suggest- 
ing a  thought  of  the  medium. 

A  speaker  should  never  underrate  his  audience. 
Parton  said:  "In  lecturing  you  must  talk  your  best. 
An  angel  from  heaven  would  be  appreciated  by  an 
American  audience. "  Wendell  Phillips  said  the  same 
thing.  Beecher,  Phillips  Brooks,  Curtis  and  Chapin, 
all  gave  their  best  to  their  hearers  and  found  them 
receptive.     So  did  Lincoln. 

The  enormous  labor  which  Dickens  undei'went  to 
qualif}^  himself  to  read  his  own  works  shows  the  price 
of  success  in  this  field.  Charles  F.  Adams  said :  "  A 
real  orator  is  the  most  artificial  product  of  human 
education."  Speaking  of  Edwin  Burke,  another 
writer  says :  "  Never  for  a  moment  did  he  trust  to  his 
genius.  See  him  at  the  top  of  his  high  fame,  elabor- 
ating every  speech.  He  wrote  every  sentence  with 
the  most  studious  and  exhaustive  care.  He  would 
have  twelve  different  proofs  of  his  'Reflections  on 
the  French  Eevolution, '  before  he  would  allow  it  to 
go  to  press,  and  even  then  he  watched  every  page 
with  a  vigilant  eye,  as  if  his  very  existence  depended 
on  faultless  accurac}^  of  statement  and  style. "  Eobert 
C.  Winthrop  tells  how  Webster  prepared  one  of  his 
great  speeches.  After  an  evening  spent  at  a  good 
dinner  and  receiving  visitors  he  went  to  bed,  leaving 


WJiat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livinr/  ?     163 

orders  to  be  called  at  2  a.m.  Then  with  freshened 
mind  and  body  he  i^repared  his  great  argument  by 
candle-light.  Other  men  would  have  staid  up  all 
night  and  been  fagged  out  in  consequence.  But 
Webster  knew  the  value  of  even  a  brief  rest. 

John  Bright  usually  spoke  from  short  notes.  Glad- 
stone refreshed  his  memory  from  memoranda  of 
the  leading  figures  and  facts  he  wished  to  cite.  Mr. 
Chamberlain  has  four  or  five  pages  of  heads.  Lord 
Rosebery  follows  the  same  method.  Lord  Derby 
wrote  down  every  word  and  committed  his  speech  to 
memor}'.  In  one  of  his  letters  he  says  that  all  his 
principal  speeches  cost  him  two  sleepless  nights,  one 
in  thinking  what  he  would  say,  and  the  other  in  la- 
menting that  he  might  have  said  it  better.  Thiers 
made  the  most  careful  and  elaborate  preparation. 
O'Connell  and  Gambetta  spoke  always  on  the  inspi- 
ration of  the  moment.  The  iDOwer  of  Gambetta's  elo- 
quence lay  in  the  utterance  of  condensed  sentences, 
such  as  the  following :  "  When  in  France  a  citizen  is 
born,  a  soldier  is  born  at  the  same  time."  "  There  is 
no  social  cure,  because  there  is  no  social  question." 
"  I  feel  myself  free  to  be  both  a  believer  in  Joan  of 
Arc  and  a  pupil  and  admirer  of  Voltaire."  "Do  not 
cry  out  'Vive  Gambetta !'  but  cry  *Vive  la  Republiciue !' 
for  the  young  have  to  grasp  the  idea,  and  have  the 
conviction  that  men  are  nothing,  but  that  principles 
are  all."  "Nbt  the  sword  alone  can  undo  the  Gor- 
dian  knot;  not  power  alone  the  international  ques- 
tion." 

Smooth,  flowing,  limpid  speech  becomes  tiresome 
unless  relieved  by  impressive  phrases,  brilliant  figures 
or  appeals  to  high  principle  or  passion.     Such  speak- 


164     IVIiat  S1udl  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

ing  may  soothe  like  the  murmur  of  a  brook,  but  it  is 
not  impressive.  A  lady  remarked  of  a  certain  Ameri- 
can bishop :  "  The  words  seem  to  flow  from  his  finger 
ends."  G.  W.  Smalley  said  of  Sir  Stafford  North- 
cote  :  "  When  the  House  grew  excited  at  the  close  of  a 
long  party  debate,  and  Sir  Stafford  rose  in  the  small 
hours  of  the  morning  to  wind  ujj,  in  behaK  of  his 
party,  men  felt  that  the  ripple  of  his  sweet  voice,  the 
softness  of  his  gentle  manner,  were  not  what  the  occa- 
sion called  for."  The  trumpet-call  is  grander  than 
the  flute. 

Expression  is  the  most  difficult  branch  to  acquire 
or  impart.  Delsarte  says :  "  A  gesture  supplies  that 
which  the  word  leaves  out."  An  actor  tamely  re- 
hearsed the  closet  scene  in  "  Hamlet, "  and  then  asked 
his  instructor  how  he  liked  the  gestures.  "I  didn't 
see  any,"  was  the  reply.  "  Didn't  see  any?"  said  the 
actor  in  astonishment.  "No,  I  saw  some  motions, 
but  no  gestures."  Matthew  Arnold  lectured  in  a 
monotonous,  singsong  tone,  with  an  irritating,  rising 
and  falling  cadence.  His  sole  gesture  was  to  clasp 
his  hands  in  front  and  then  wave  them  backward  with 
a  feeble  flap.  Bismarck  had  a  dull,  heavy  voice. 
Every  sentence  was  chopped  into  pieces  of  from  one 
to  five  words,  and  these  were  commonly  uttered  in  an 
explosive  manner,  with  frequent  stumbling  over,  or 
repetition  of,  single  words.  Both  hands  rested  behind 
him  when  speaking,  except  when  he  occasionally 
gesticulated  with  the  right,  making  an  unmeaning 
swing  of  the  hand  upward,  while  the  elbow  remained 
at  the  side.  Only  two  or  three  times  during  a  speech 
of  nearly  two  hours  did  he  make  any  more  emphatic 
gesture.     Emerson  made  no  gestures.     Sufficient  for 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  fofr  a  Living?    165 

him  were  the  modulations  of  the  voice,  and  the  occa- 
sional lifting  of  the  head  and  brightening  of  the  vis- 
age. Nevertheless,  every  word  was  uttered  so  as  to 
express  its  fullest  force  and  meaning.  No  one  else 
could  have  delivered  his  lectures  so  effectively  and 
captivatingly. 

Talma,  in  his  treatise  on  the  art  of  acting,  says : 
"  The  gesture,  the  attitude,  the  look,  should  precede 
the  words,  as  the  flash  of  lightning  precedes  the 
thunder."  The  true  orator's  movements  must  appear 
so  spontaneous  that  they  are  unnoticed.  Insensibly, 
they  will  affect  his  audience.  James  Kedpath  said 
that  Wendell  Phillips  talked  on  the  platform  as  if 
he  were  speaking  in  a  parlor.  He  seldom  moved 
more  than  a  foot  from  the  spot  where  he  first  stood, 
and  his  gestures  were  as  quiet  as  his  elocution.  He 
never  raised  his  voice  loudly,  although  it  was  easily 
heard  in  the  largest  hall.  Horace  Greeley  once  said 
that  he  supi)osed  no  young  man  ever  heard  Phillips 
speak  without  thinking  that  he  could  talk  just  as  well, 
without  any  trouble.  Other  young  critics,  who  have 
not  yet  foimd  out  that  it  is  lightning  and  not  thunder 
that  kills,  expressed  the  wish  that  Phillips  would 
"just  let  himself  out  once"  and  show  what  he  could 
do.  "  I  have  even  heard  intelligent  men  compare  him 
with  Garrison  and  Parker  Pillsbury  as  orators.  It 
was  the  difference  between  a  stout  cudgel  in  the 
hands  of  an  honest  citizen  and  a  Damascus  blade 
wielded  by  a  master  of  fence." 

Henry  Clay  cautioned  a  young  Congressman  against 
making  bitter  personal  attacks  upon  opponents. 
"When  you  go  fishing,"  he  said,  "you  find  the  best 
rod  gives  a  little  at  each  joint?     It  does  not  snap  and 


16C     TVhat  SJiall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

break  at  every  touch,  but  beuds,  and  shows  its 
strength  only  when  a  heavy  weight  is  put  on  it. "  The 
3' ouug  Congressman  said :  "  I  caught  his  meaning.  I 
had  seen  him  chatting  familiarly  with  the  very  men 
whom  I  was  berating.  Yet  I  knew  when  great  inter- 
ests clashed  he  was  the  one  man  whom  they  feared. 
I  set  myself  to  learn  patience  and  coolness. "  Disraeli 
had  oratorical  tact.  When  he  had  to  discuss  the 
Copyright  Bill,  a  less  clever  man  would  have  been 
all  cocked  and  primed.  But  he  was  brief  and  to  the 
point,  and  complimented  the  literary  ability  of  the 
House.  He  writes:  "I  sat  down  with  a  general 
cheer."  On  another  occasion  he  wrote:  "I  feel  how 
much  more  I  might  have  done  had  I  had  time,  but 
the  oi:)portuue  is  sometimes  preferable  to  the  excel- 
lent. A  majority  is  always  better  than  the  best  rep- 
artee." This  recalls  the  remark  of  Daniel  Manning 
regarding  the  most  ejBfective  speech  at  the  Chicago 
Convention  of  1884.  It  was  comprised  in  one  sen- 
tence: "New  York  casts  her  seventy-two  votes  for 
Grover  Cleveland."  When  a  political  syndicate  tried 
to  pass  a  bill  to  sell  the  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard  for 
$200,000,  John  H.  Starin  rose  and  said :  "  I  do  not 
know  if  it  is  in  order,  but  I  will  draw  my  check  for 
$500,000  for  the  property."  This  was  his  sole  speech 
in  Congress.  It  killed  the  scheme.  An  example  of 
effective  speaking  was  Senator  Proctor's  calm  recital 
of  Spanish  atrocities  in  Cuba  in  1898,  of  which  ex- 
President  Harrison  said :  "  I  do  not  think  there  has 
been  made,  in  any  legislative  assembly  of  the  world, 
in  fifty  3^ears,  a  speech  that  so  powerfully  affected 
I)ublic  sentiment  as  that."  There  was  not  a  lurid 
adjective  in  the  speech. 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living?      167 

So  many  public  speakers  now  read  from  manu- 
script that  there  is  danger  that  oratory  may  become 
a  lost  art.  No  document,  however  dramaticall}-  read, 
can  have  the  effect  of  an  offhand  speech.  M.  Dou- 
mic,  the  French  critic,  remarks  that  "  reading  from  a 
manuscript  or  memorizing  gives  to  the  word  some- 
thing that  is  cold  and  without  accent."  He  usually 
lectures  with  only  a  few  notes,  but  after  careful  i)rep- 
aration,  always  striving  to  keep  in  touch  with  his  au- 
dience, "eyes  looking  into  eyes." 

Reading  aloud  affords  excellent  practice.  The 
main  thing  is  to  breathe  properlj-,  and  to  cultivate  a 
simple,  natural  manner.  Elocution,  as  usually  taught, 
tends  to  an  artificial,  stilted  and  declamatory'  style. 
Hamlet's  advice  to  the  players  tells  all  that  a 
beginner  needs  to  know  about  methods  of  declama- 
tion. 

The  best  i)ractice  is  for  the  novice  to  get  up  in 
school  or  in  a  literarj'  society  or  club,  and  simply 
state  facts  or  discuss  some  familiar  subject,  without 
trying  to  make  a  speech,  until  ho  acquires  ease  and 
confidence.  Any  one  can  talk  upon  every -da}-  affairs. 
Practice  makes  perfect.  At  Packard's  Business 
College  in  New  York  it  is  the  custom  on  Friday 
mornings  to  call  on  the  pupils  to  practise  ofl'hand 
talking  on  topics  of  the  day.  It  has  had  astonish- 
ingly good  results.  In  like  manner,  at  the  Twilight 
Club  dinners,  many  "  dumb  orators"  have  developed 
ease  and  facility,  by  talking  on  topics  which  concern 
their  daily  affairs. 

If  one  has  something  to  say,  the  words  will  come 
readily.  Gambetta  said :  "  The  speech  is  nothing  to 
me ;  the  idea  I  want  to  put  forth  and  demonstrate  is 


168     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  fw  a  Living  ? 

all  I  think  of  in  advance.  For  tlie  remainder  I  trust 
to  opportunity."  In  like  manner,  Daniel  Webster 
criticised  his  own  early  orations,  because  when  they 
were  composed  he  had  not  learned  that  true  power 
lies  in  the  idea  and  not  in  the  expression. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

MEDICINE. 

Numbers  in  the  Profession — Strain  of  Practice — Fees — Preven- 
tive Medicine — Only  Capable  Men  in  Demand.  Dr.  J.  S.  Billings 
on  Study — Large  or  Small  Colleges — The  Medical  Student — The 
Country  Doctor — Dr.  Willard  Parker's  Advice — Hard  Workers 
— The  Physician  and  Society — Tact  and  Gravity — Hotel  Doctors 
— Examples  of  Success — Sir.  Andrew  Clark  a  Model  Physician. 

Our  medical  schools  turn  out  annually  some  three 
thousand  graduates.  Many  more  enter  the  i^rofession 
without  a  diploma.  As  Turkey  has  been  called  the 
"  sick  man  of  Europe,"  America  might  be  called  "  the 
sick  man  of  the  Western  continent."  We  have  one 
doctor  to  650  people.  Great  Britain  has  one  to  1,800, 
France  one  to  2,300,  and  the  German  Empire  one  to 
about  2,000,  Nevada  is  blessed  with  one  doctor  for 
every  380  inhabitants,  Indiana  one  for  4G5,  and  Ken- 
tucky one  for  547.  The  evils  resulting  from  this  super- 
abundance of  physicians  are  obvious.  An  American 
surgeon  protests  against  the  haste  and  speed  with 
which  students  are  allowed  to  rush  through  medieal 
schools,  and  the  disastrous  consequences  to  the  public 
of  their  ignorance  and  lack  of  judgment.  Of  many 
patients  this  epitaph  might  be  written :  "  Died  at  the 
hands  of  a  short-term  doctor." 

Medical  competition  is  severe,  and  lasts  from  the 
first  to  the  last  day  of  practice.  None  but  the  ener- 
getic and  industrious  can  expect  success.     As  a  medi- 


170     What  Shall  Onr  Boijs  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

cal  writer  says :  "  If  you  have  a  son  wlio  is  notori- 
ously slow  in  intellect,  wanting  in  application,  or 
who  prefers  pleasure  to  steady  work,  as  you  value 
his  future  happiness  and  your  own  peace  of  mind, 
put  him  to  any  profession  or  business  you  like  save 
medicine."  Chauncey  Depew,  in  an  address  to  medi- 
cal graduates,  advised  them  to  "stick  and  dig," 
which  is  about  all  that  any  one  can  say  to  the  begin- 
ner. The  delay  in  obtaining  practice  is  often  great, 
and  "hope  deferred  maketh  the  heart  sick."  The 
London  Lancet  warns  young  men  not  to  study  medi- 
cine unless  they  have  private  resources.  Many  able 
men  suffer  great  trials  from  lack  of  means  to  live  on, 
while  they  are  waiting  for  patients.  Conan  Doyle  in 
"  Eound  the  Ked  Lamp"  vividly  describes  the  strug- 
gles of  the  young  practitioner  to  get  a  foothold  in  an 
old  community.  The  Lancet  remarks  that  "one 
reason  why  the  scale  of  payments  for  attendance  on 
the  sick  poor  is  so  low  will  be  found  in  the  number 
of  eager  applicants  for  any  vacant  post,  let  the  emol- 
ument be  small  as  it  may."  Two-thirds  of  the 
medical  treatment  in  cities  is  practically  free  thi'ough 
the  abuse  of  the  dispensary  system.  Competition 
cuts  into  physicians'  incomes  sharply.  On  these 
accounts  the  city  doctor  is  at  a  disadvantage  with 
his  country  brother. 

The  English  physician  does  not  hold  so  high  a 
social  position  as  the  American  doctor.  The  latter 
drives  daily  and  sees  a  variety  of  people,  which  keeps 
his  mind  fresh.  He  can  usually  earn  a  fair  living, 
while,  if  he  shows  special  talent,  he  may  make  more 
than  a  competence.  His  duties  are  not  monotonous. 
On  the  other  hand,  his  hours  are  long  and  irregular. 


What  Shall  Our  Boyfi  Do  for  a  Living  ?     171 

He  is  never  master  of  his  owu  time,  but  by  day  and 
night  is  at  the  beck  and  call  of  the  public.  A  large 
practice  is  wearing  and  many  physicians  break  down 
under  it.  Medicine,  like  law,  is  a  jealous  mistress.  A 
certain  proportion  of  physicians  fail  for  want  of 
adaptability;  others  from  lack  of  energy  or  from 
bad  habits.  In  the  long  run  industry  wins  its  way, 
and  is  better  than  special  talent.  Much  depends 
upon  natural  aptitude.  Manual  dexterity  is  of  great 
value,  not  only  to  the  surgeon  but  to  the  physician. 
An  eminent  New  York  surgeon  says :  "  I  can  tell  by 
the  touch  the  condition  of  a  bleeding  wound,  or 
when  using  a  needle  whether  the  point  is  passing 
through  a  cavity  or  through  flesh."  Good  address  is 
also  of  vital  importance.  A  physician  should  culti- 
vate good  manners,  and  how  to  make  a  pleasant  im- 
pression. For  this  reason  he  cannot  have  too  much 
general  culture. 

As  certain  men  and  women  are  endowed  by  nature 
with  the  healing  touch,  so  others  are  born  to  charm. 
It  was  said  of  Dr.  John  W.  Francis  that  his  patients 
were  soothed  by  his  brilliant  and  lively  conversation. 
Dr.  Fordj'ce  Barker  had  the  same  charm  of  manner. 
The  i^ressure  of  his  hand,  the  sunshine  of  his  smile 
and  his  winning  manners  made  him  universally 
popular.  Dr.  Gunning  S.  Bedford  was  a  thorough 
courtier,  genial,  alert  and  soothing.  A  fellow- 
practitioner  remarked  of  Dr.  Bedford:  "He  was  an 
ansBsthetic  of  himself  in  the  confinement  chamber." 
He  once  astonished  his  class  by  saying :  "  And  now, 
gentlemen,  some  advice  better  even  than  great  knowl- 
edge. Look  well  to  your  boots  before  you  answer  a 
call.     There  must  be  in  them  when  entering  a  sick 


172     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

chamber  where  dwells  nervousness  no  creak  of 
leather  nor  heavy  sole,  for  your  silent  footfall  will  be 
a  medicine  of  itself.  Then  you  must  cultivate  your 
voice  to  soft,  melodious  accents,  and  your  touch  must 
be  like  the  fall  of  a  rose-leaf.  Never  whisper  to  the 
sick,  for  it  is  a  funereal  sound.  Cultivate  tact,  for 
it  is  the  open  sesame  to  confidence." 

Macaulay,  on  the  authority  of  Prince  Albert,  states 
that  in  1851  there  was  hardly  a  physician  in  Germany 
who  earned  $5,000  by  his  profession.  Hence  profes- 
sor's chairs  were  very  acceptable.  Yet  Brodie  and 
Bright  in  England  each  made  $50,000.  Sir  Astley 
Cooper  had  $5,000  thrown  to  him  from  the  window, 
in  a  nightcap,  by  a  patient  upon  whom  he  had  oper- 
ated. A  similar  sum  was  paid  to  an  Arab  surgeon 
by  the  Khedive  of  Egj^pt  for  curing  his  mother. 
Sir  Charles  Peacock,  the  Queen's  accoucheur,  paid 
an  income  tax  one  year  on  $150,000.  This  is  said 
to  be  the  largest  income  ever  returned  by  a  physician 
in  England.  Sir  William  Gull  and  Sir  James  Paget 
earned  from  $50,000  to  $75,000  a  year.  When  Baron 
Rothschild  was  ill  at  his  country-seat  both  physicians 
were  in  daily  attendance.  Tliey  received  100  guineas 
for  each  visit.  Sir  William  Paget  is  said  to  have 
received  $2,000  for  a  visit  to  Ireland.  Eadcliffe  in 
the  height  of  his  fame  earned  $35,000  a  year;  Mead, 
$25,000;  Baillie,  $45,000;  Sir  H.  Halford,  $55,000; 
and  Sir  Benjamin  C.  Brodie,  the  year  but  one  before 
his  retirement,  $85,000.  Radcliffe  received  $8,000 
for  visiting  Lord  Albemarle  at  Namur.  Granvill 
was  paid  $5,000  and  his  travelling  expenses  for 
a  visit  to  St.  Petersburg.  Sir  William  Gull  re- 
ceived $10,000  for  two  visits  to  Pau,  and  $7,500  for  a 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?     173 

week's  aiaj  in  Perthshire.  The  fee  of  fees  was  that 
received  by  Dr.  Dinesdale,  in  1768,  for  inoculating 
the  Empress  Catherine  and  her  son  at  St.  Petersburg, 
viz,  $60,000  cash,  a  life  pension  of  $2,500,  and  a  bar- 
onetcy. Charles  Keetley,  the  senior  surgeon  in  West 
London  Hospital,  charged  $2,000  for  a  railway  acci- 
dent case  in  Franco,  and  when  he  sued  for  the  claim 
a  jury  gave  him  $1,750.  Valentine  Mott  testified  in 
court  that  his  income  was  $600  a  day.  A  throat 
specialist  who  secured  the  patronage  of  the  profes- 
sional singers  is  said  to  have  earned  $70,000  in  one 
year.  The  exaggeration  about  lawyers'  and  doctors' 
incomes  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  it  is  noised 
about  that  a  man  in  a  certain  year  made  a  large  sum, 
which  it  is  assumed  forthwith  is  his  regular  income. 
Few  lawyers  or  doctors  die  rich. 

The  highest  medical  fee  on  record  in  America  was 
$100,000,  given  by  Mr.  Flagler,  of  the  Standard  Oil 
Company,  to  Dr.  George  Shelton  for  attending  his 
daughter  for  many  months.  Dr.  McBirney,  of  New 
York,  is  reported  to  have  received  $40,000  for  attend- 
ing a  patient.  Provost  Pepper,  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  told  a  friend  that  he  had  earned  $60,- 
000  within  nine  months,  and  he  received  $10,000  for 
a  visit  to  Erie.  The  average  income  of  a  New  York 
physician  under  thirty  will  not  exceed  $1,500.  If  a 
beginner  earns  $300  the  first  year  he  is  "doiug  as 
well  as  could  be  expected."  If  he  earns  $3,000  a 
year  by  the  time  he  is  forty,  he  should  be  content. 
The  highest  medical  income  in  New  York  is  al)out 
$60,000.  There  are  perhaps  a  hundred  men  who  earn 
$20,000. 

Dr.  Fordyce  Barker  (quoted  to  the  New  York  Acad- 


174     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

emy  of  Medicine  the  saying  of  Dr.  John  Ware,  of 
Boston,  made  about  1846,  that  the  public  no  longer 
believed  in  the  medical  profession  as  a  body,  and  that 
there  only  remained  such  personal  confidence  as  in- 
di^ddual  members  might  secure.  "This,"  he  said, 
"  was  parth'  due  to  the  antagonism  developed  by  the 
spread  of  homceopathy,  and  partly  to  the  doubts  which 
the  best  physicians  feel  regarding  the  certainty  of 
medicine  as  a  science,  which  has  led  so  many  of  them 
to  rely  less  upon  drugs  for  the  cure  of  disease  than 
upon  nursing,  diet  and  sanitation." 

Josh  Billings  remarks  in  his  quaint  way  that  a 
doctor  is  a  very  nice,  bland  gentleman,  who  charges 
you  three  dollars  for  telling  you  to  eat  less  and  exer- 
cise more.  This  well  represents  the  disparaging 
opinion  which  many  laymen  have  of  the  physician's 
office.  "Why  did  you  not  send  for  me?"  said  a 
doctor  to  a  man  who  had  been  sick.  "Oh,  I  didn't 
want  to  do  anything  desperate,"  answered  the  latter. 

Sir  Astley  Cooper  declared :  "  The  science  of  medi- 
cine is  founded  upon  conjecture,  and  improved  by 
murder."  Sir  James  Johnson  said:  "I  declare  as 
my  conscientious  conviction,  founded  upon  long  obser- 
vation and  experiment,  that  if  there  were  not  a  single 
physician,  surgeon,  chemist,  druggist  or  drug  on  the 
face  of  the  earth,  there  would  be  less  sickness  and  less 
mortality  than  now  prevail."  Dr.  Oliver  Wendell 
Holmes  remarked  that  "  if  the  whole  materia  medica 
could  be  sunk  in  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  it  would  be 
all  the  better  for  mankind,  and  all  the  worse  for  the 
fishes." 

The  young  physician  should  therefore  make  up  his 
mind  to  study  the  causes  of  disease.     The  Medical 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      175 

Record  says :  "  The  province  of  the  doctor  is  not  alone 
that  of  healer,  but  of  health-officer  to  the  family  and 
the  community.  He  must  seek  for  h^-gienic  as  well 
as  therapeutic  triumphs.  ...  If  the  merest  minority 
of  medical  graduates  would  devote  a  share  of  their 
time,  while  awaiting  the  growth  of  a  paying  practice, 
to  the  study  of  preventive  medicine,  they  would  un- 
doubtedly be  better  prepared  for  obtaining  that  prac- 
tice." 

The  recent  advances  in  sanitary  science  have  opened 
a  new  field  for  jDhysicians.  The  position  of  Health 
Officer  may  not  always  be  well  paid,  but  it  brings  a 
man  in  contact  with  the  public  and  is  a  valuable 
means  of  advancement. 

Owing  to  the  spread  of  hygienic  knowledge,  people 
have  become  more  careful  in  regard  to  their  health  and 
are  less  exposed  to  many  forms  of  disease.  They 
have  also  learned  how  to  treat  their  own  simpler  ail- 
ments without  calling  in  a  i^hysician.  Thousands  of 
families  keep  their  own  medicines  and  use  them  with- 
out the'direction  of  a  doctor.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
growth  of  our  complex  civilization  and  the  i)ressure 
of  living  foster  many  ailments,  especially  among 
industrial  workers,  such  as  are  set  forth  in  Dr.  Eich- 
ardson's  "Diseases  of  Modern  Life."  The  phy- 
sician will  therefore  always  find  a  demand  for  his 
services. 

The  methods  employed  by  Tom  Sawj-er  to  get  a 
start  are  still  practised  by  physicians,  but  as  a  rule 
hard  work  and  close  attention  to  their  duties  are 
the  means  most  generally  used.  Some  get  patients 
through  accident,  or  through  social  connections,  or 
through  other  physicians  who  send  them  cases  which 


176     JVhat  Shall  Our  Boys  Bo  for  a  Living  ? 

they  have  made  a  speciality  of  treating.  The  medi- 
cal profession  has  changed  its  status.  There  is  no 
field  for  shallow  men  and  charlatans.  Only  those 
who  are  capable  and  will  work  hard  can  succeed. 
The  broader  the  foundation  the  taller  the  structure 
one  can  rear  upon  it.  But  the  medical  student  should 
not  decide  too  early  what  specialty  he  means  to  fol- 
low. He  had  better  wait  and  follow  the  oi)portuni- 
ties  which  circumstances  open.  English  physicians 
assert  that  we  have  too  many  specialists.  A  famous 
doctor,  when  asked  if  he  made  a  specialty  of  the  skin, 
answered:  "Yes,  and  everything  inside  of  it."  The 
general  practitioner  takes  a  broader  view  than  the 
specialist,  and  therefore  should  rank  higher,  though 
individual  taste  or  chance  lead  many  men  to  devote 
themselves  to  special  lines  in  medicine. 

Many  physicians  have  regretted  in  mature  life, 
when  they  lacked  the  opportunity  for  study,  that  thej 
had  been  unable  in  youth,  when  the  mind  is  most 
receptive,  to  ground  themselves  thoroughly  in  the 
knowledge  of  their  profession.  Some  kinds  of  knowl- 
edge are  hard  to  master  in  later  years. 

Dr.  J.  S.  Billings,  one  of  the  best  equipped  and 
scholarly  men  in  his  profession,  remarks :  "  Thirty- 
three  years  ago  I  began  the  study  of  medicine,  having 
obtained  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  after  the 
usual  classical  course  of  those  days.  It  so  happens 
that  the  smattering  of  Latin  and  Greek  which  I  ob- 
tained has  been  of  great  use  to  me,  and  I  may,  there- 
fore, be  a  prejudiced  witness.  I  had  attended  lec- 
tures in  physics  and  chemistry  but  had  done  no 
laboratory  work,  and  I  could  read  easy  French  and 
German.     Thus  equipped  I  began  to  read  anatomy, 


Wliaf  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?     Ill 

physiology,  and  the  principles  of  medicine.  Nomi- 
nally I  had  a  preceptor,  but  I  do  not  think  I  saw  him 
six  times  during  the  year  which  followed,  for  I  was 
teaching  school  in  another  State.  Nevertheless,  he 
told  me  what  books  to  read,  and  I  read  them.  The 
next  thing  was  to  attend  the  prescribed  two  courses 
of  lectures  in  a  medical  college  in  Cincinnati.  Each 
course  lasted  about  five  months  and  was  precisely  the 
same.  There  was  no  laboratory  course,  and  I  began 
to  attend  clinical  lectures  the  first  day  of  the  first 
course.  Oae  result  of  this  was  that  I  had  to  learn 
chemical  manipulation,  the  practical  use  of  the  micro- 
scope, etc.,  at  a  later  period,  when  it  was  much  more 
difl&cult.  In  fact,  I  may  say  that  I  have  been  study- 
ing ever  since  to  repair  the  deficiencies  in  my  medi- 
cal training,  and  have  never  been  able  to  catch  up." 

Hundreds  of  other  physicians  have  had  a  similar 
experience. 

The  facilities  for  studying  medicine  in  this  country 
are  unsurpassed.  While  foreign  travel  is  advanta- 
geous, there  is  no  necessity  for  a  student  to  go  abroad 
to  perfect  himself.  In  Continental  Europe  medicine 
is  studied  more  as  a  science  than  as  an  art.  An  emi- 
nent German  said :  "  Providence  created  disease  that 
phj'sicians  might  have  something  to  study."  More 
attention  is  there  given  to  pathology  and  morbid  anat- 
omy than  to  the  cure  of  disease. 

The  medical  college  in  the  large  city  has  decided 
advantages  over  the  one  situated  in  the  small  town, 
because  it  attracts  the  ablest  teachers  and  has  the 
finest  hospitals.  Smaller  institutions  may  have  able 
professors,  but  they  lack  clinical  advantages  and  sub- 
jects for  dissection.  Again,  in  the  large  citv  there 
12 


178     Wliat  Sludl  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living . 

are  always  young  physicians  who  will  coach  students 
when  desired.  Many  lecture  courses  need  to  be  sup- 
plemented by  such  special  instruction,  notably  on  the 
practical  use  of  the  microscope,  stethoscope,  and  other 
instruments,  together  with  electrical  and  chemical 
ai)pliances.  It  is  advantageous  for  the  beginoer,  be- 
fore attending  medical  lectures,  to  study  for  a  year  in 
a  physician's  office,  particularly  in  the  office  of  one 
who  compounds  his  own  drugs.  The  student  thus 
learns,  by  contact,  the  nature  and  appearance  of  the 
different  compounds,  and  prepares  himself  by  prelim- 
inary study  better  to  understand  the  lectures  he  will 
hear  later. 

Dr.  Cathell's  "The  Physician  Himself"  (Balti- 
more), which  has  passed  through  eight  editions,  may 
be  commended  to  all  young  doctors  as  full  of  valuable 
counsel. 

"New  York  City  gathers  medical  students  from 
every  quarter  of  the  western  hemisphere,  and  here  is 
the  best  place,  perhaps,  to  study  the  average  specimen. 
He  comes  from  the  country  or  some  small  town, 
where  he  has  been  spending  the  summer  with  his 
preceptor.  He  has  picked  up  quite  a  number  of 
ideas  and  has  some  very  positive  opinions.  He  takes 
a  room  with  board,  for  which  he  pays  six  dollars  a 
week.  He  matriculates,  joins  a  quiz,  and  settles 
down  to  work,  for  our  American  medical  student  is 
essentially  an  industrious  fellow.  His  hard  studying 
is  done  for  the  most  part  during  his  two  winters  at 
the  college.  But  he  is  not  entirely  unsocial  or  non- 
convivial.  He  picks  up  some  acquaintances,  and 
takes  a  chum.  There  is  a  gradual  accumulation  of 
beer  bottles  under  the  bed.     A  few  bones  and  some 


What  Slwll  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livimj  ?     179 

pipes  adorn  his  tables  and  walls.  Although  the 
chemical  professor  has  discoursed  upon  nicotine,  and 
shown  that  'one  (or  two  at  most)  drops  make  a  cat 
a  ghost, '  he  continues  to  smoke.  A  permanent  odor 
of  tobacco  attaches  itself  to  the  room. 

"As  our  student  progresses  in  acquaintances,  ho 
j&nds  that  the  mind  really  needs  intervals  of  rest  and 
relaxation,  a  point  in  mental  hygiene  which  tcikca  an 
especially  strong  hold  uiwn  him.  By  this  time  he 
knows  the  young  lad}'  of  the  house  very  well.  She 
has  taken  him  to  church.  He  has  escorted  her  to  the 
theatre.  He  horrifies  her  with  tales  of  the  dissecting- 
room,  and  with  the  most  harrowing  descriptions. 
She  thinks  the  doctor's  life  very  hard,  but  sympa- 
thetically asserts  that  it  is  a  very  noble  one. 

"  In  the  lecture  room  there  is  occasionallj'  an  inter- 
change of  missiles  between  hours,  some  loud  talking, 
or  even  a  scrimmage.  But  he  finds  that  to  be  bois- 
terous is  a  habit  that  is  wearing  away,  and  now  exists 
only  in  the  inferior  schools. 

"  He  does  not  wear  fashionable  clothes.  His  sleeve 
buttons  are  in  the  skull-and-crossbones  style,  with 
green  glass  eyes.  His  cane  is  grotesquel}'  carved. 
With  this  he  walks  up  Fifth  Avenue  on  Sundays. 
He  has  one  or  two  nice  acquaintances,  but,  on  the 
whole,  his  appearance  in  society  is  confined  to  the 
unpretentious  boarding-house  hop,  or  more  (luiet 
social  gatherings,  all  terminating  invariably  in  ice- 
cream and  cake.  He  still  likes  to  bring  stories  from 
the  college  into  his  general  conversation,  and  is 
rather  proud  of  the  sensations  which  his  descriptions 
or  comments  produce. 

"As    examinations   approach,   ho    works  harder, 


180      WJiat  SJuill  Oil)'  Boys  Do  for  a  Livhig  ? 

smokes  more,  and  drinks  just  as  much.  When  he 
has  passed  the  examination,  and  received  his  degree, 
ho  is  just  as  likely  as  not  to  pack  up  and  go  straight 
home,  in  a  perfectly  normal  and  non-alcoholic  condi- 
tion. 

"  Our  average  student  is  not  a  bad  fellow  or  an  ex- 
traordinary fellow.  He  has  no  great  fondness  for 
study,  but  he  works  with  enthusiasm  and  graduates 
creditably.  He  settles  in  the  country  or  in  some 
provincial  centre,  battles  with  fortune  and  disease, 
against  heavy  odds,  for  several  years.  Finally  he 
becomes  a  useful  and  respected  member  of  society, 
passing  from  '  the  average  student '  to  something 
more  than  an  average  man."  ' 

The  young  graduate  who  begins  practice  in  a  large 
city  is  lost  in  the  crowd.  His  first  patients  must  be 
largely  among  the  poor,  who  can  pay  little,  if  amj- 
thing.  He  finds  it  hard  to  gain  a  foothold  among  the 
well-to-do.  Yet  many  young  physicians  have  won 
success  in  New  York  and  other  cities,  in  spite  of  such 
obstacles  by  following  the  example  of  a  famous  doctor 
who  said :  "  I  crept  over  the  backs  of  the  poor  into 
the  pockets  of  the  rich." 

The  country  practitioner  has  to  travel  long  dis- 
tances, is  paid  less  than  his  city  brother,  and  is  iso- 
lated from  professional  associates.  But  his  opportu- 
nities for  observation  and  experience  are  not  small, 
and  he  gains  seK-reliance  and  readiness  in  emergen- 
cies. Ian  Maclaren,  in  his  pathetic  sketch  of  the 
Scotch  doctor,  describes,  in  "  Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier 
Bush,"  the  hardships  of  the  country  doctor's  life. 
That  life,  however,  has  its  compensations.  Yirchow 
■  Medical  Record. 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livhuj  ?    181 

built  up  bis  reputation  in  a  remote  town.  Mayer, 
whom  Tyndall  ranked  first  "as  seer  and  organizer," 
was  all  his  life  a  country  doctor.  Ephraim  McDowell 
first  performed  the  operation  of  ovariotomy  in  1816, 
in  a  Kentucky  village.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  de- 
scribes, with  happy  skill,  the  country  doctor:  "He 
is  self-reliant,  self-sacrificing,  working  a  great  deal 
harder  for  his  living  than  most  of  those  who  call 
themselves  the  laboring  classes.  He  has  the  sagacity 
without  which  learning  is  a  mere  encumbrance,  and 
he  has  also  a  fair  share  of  that  learning  without  which 
sagacity  is  a  traveller  with  a  good  horse,  who  cannot 
read  the  directions  on  the  guide-boards."  Hundi'eds 
of  such  men  are  leading  laborious,  useful  and  honored 
lives  throughout  the  land.  While  unknown  to  fame, 
and  not  rich  in  this  world's  goods,  they  are  valuable 
members  of  the  community. 

The  counti'y  doctor  must  be  plucky,  keen  of  obser- 
vation, i^rompt,  full  of  resources,  self-reliant.  His 
cases  may  be  difficult,  yet  his  resources  are  small. 
He  may  need  counsel,  and  have  no  one  to  call  in  but 
an  ignoramus  or  a  bigot.  He  may  be  forced  to  be 
pharmacist  as  well  as  physician.  He  may  be  con- 
fronted with  a  complicated  surgical  case  and  lack 
instruments  and  ai)pliances.  Again,  his  work  is  seen 
by  all  men.  He  is  subject  to  constant  criticism,  and 
cannot  shirk  responsibility  or  hide  behind  subterfuges. 
On  the  other  hand,  "  if  intelligent  and  educated,  pos- 
sessing a  warm  heart  and  generous  sympathies,  the 
country  doctor  gains  respect,  esteem  and  love.  He 
learns  to  know  his  people  even  better  than  they  know 
themselves.  To  them  he  is  a  friend,  comforter  and 
adviser;   and  he  becomas,  what  is  growing  rare  in 


182      What  Shall  Our  Boijs  Do  for  a  Livmrj  ? 

cities,  the  family  doctor,  in  whom  all  confidences 
meet  and  rest,  and  in  whom  all  hopes  of  human  aid 
are  centred  in  times  of  trial,  sorrow  and  impending 
dissolution." 

If  the  country  doctor  complains  that  he  has  no 
leisure,  neither  has  the  city  doctor.  Only  the  great 
workers  have  time  for  work.  Every  case  that  comes 
before  him  is  a  clinic,  if  he  will  turn  it  to  account. 
He  has  but  to  keep  up  the  scientific  habit,  and  all 
that  he  does  will  have  the  character  and  productive- 
ness of  scientific  work.  If  he  thinks  that  he  is  de- 
prived of  the  stimulus  of  fellowship,  he  is  mistaken. 
The  post-office  will  keep  him  in  touch  with  his  peers, 
whatever  his  rank. 

Dr.  George  F.  Shrady,  in  an  address  to  medical 
students  at  Kingston,  laid  special  stress  on  the  results 
which  can  be  accomplished  by  the  aid  of  small  things. 
Some  of  the  greatest  discoveries  have  been  made  with 
the  simplest  apparatus,  and  the  surgeon  and  the  doc- 
tor, like  the  engineer,  must  often  perform  great  feats 
with  the  least  help. 

Dr.  Willard  Parker,  in  an  article,  "  How  to  Succeed 
as  a  Physician,"  said:  "The  doctor  must  love  the 
profession  and  possess  sound  common  sense.  He 
must  use  the  books,  not  let  the  books  use  him."  Men 
who  are  walking  libraries,  and  nothing  more,  may  fail 
utterly  in  a  sick-room. 

"Each  patient's  disease,"  says  Oliver  Wendell 
Holmes,  "has  features  of  its  own;  there  never  was 
and  never  will  be  another  case  in  all  respects  exactly 
like  it.  If  a  doctor  has  science  without  common 
sense,  he  treats  a  fever,  but  not  this  man's  fever.  If 
he  has  common  sense  without  science,  he  treats  this 


What  Shall  Our  Boijs  Do  for  a  Livimj  ?     183 

man's  fever  without  knowing  the  general  laws  that 
govern  all  fevers  and  all  vital  movements.  .  .  .  The 
men  that  have  science  only  begin  too  far  back,  and 
before  they  get  as  far  as  the  case  in  hand  the  patient 
has  very  likeh-  gone  to  visit  his  deceased  relatives." 

No  profession  requires  a  greater  range  of  study. 
The  treatment  of  disease  involves  a  study  of  the  laws 
of  hj^giene. 

As  to  medical  ethics,  a  man  should  do  to  others  as 
he  would  be  done  by.  The  doctor  must  be  courteous, 
cheerful,  prompt  and  kind,  but  firm ;  he  must  feel  a 
personal  interest  in  his  patients  and  show  that  he 
takes  their  cases  to  heart. 

Some  men  get  along  because  they  have  an  easy 
way  and  good  opportunities  of  making  friends. 
Some  have  a  great  deal  of  brass  and  push  themselves 
into  success,  but  it  is  not  a  solid  success,  and  will 
last  but  a  few  years. 

What  Ruskin  says  about  artists  applies  equally 
well  to  doctors.  "You  may  have  known  clever  men 
who  were  indolent,  but  you  never  knew  a  great  man 
who  was  so.  When  I  liear  a  j-oung  man  spoken  of 
as  giving  promise  of  high  genius,  the  first  (luestion  I 
ask  about  him  is  always.  Does  he  work?"  Ricord 
taught  English  for  a  living  while  studying  medi- 
cine, and  only  slept  five  hours  out  of  the  twenty- 
four.  Nelatou  read  lying  on  a  board  placed  between 
two  chairs.  When  drowsiness  overtook  him,  he  fell 
off  his  narrow  bed,  and  awoke  to  fresh  struggles  with 
his  task.  Velpeau,  who  was  the  son  of  a  farrier,  re- 
ceived no  early  education.  He  studied  his  own  lan- 
guage, besides  Latin,  Greek,  history,  geography, 
physics,  chemistry  and  botany  during  his  first  year  of 


184      What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  fw  a  Livimj  ? 

medical  study.  A  young  Japanese  student  entered 
the  University  of  Berlin  entirely  ignorant  of  German, 
as  of  science.  In  three  months  he  passed  an  exami- 
nation conducted  in  German,  and  including  several 
branches  of  medicine. 

Dr.  I.  Burney  Yeo,  writing  of  "  Medicine  and  So- 
ciety," in  the  Nineteenth  Century,  makes  many  admira- 
ble suggestions  regarding  the  relation  of  i:)hysicians 
to  their  patients,  to  the  public,  and  to  one  another. 
"No  man,"  he  says,  "can  become  a  successful  prac- 
titioner who  does  not  add  to  his  technical  training  a 
keen  insight  into  human  nature."  The  present  ten- 
dency to  extreme  specialization  interferes  with  the 
personal  relations  between  the  doctor  and  his  patient. 
It  is  impossible  to  feel  the  same  interest  in  a  frac- 
tional part  of  a  person  as  in  the  whole  man.  The 
specialist  loses  breadth  of  view  and  is  in  danger  of 
being  regarded  as  a  mere  handicraftsman,  or  as  one 
skilful  in  manipulating  some  special  appliance,  who 
is  dismissed  and  forgotten  as  soon  as  his  work  is 
done.  The  high  fees  charged  by  specialists  foster  an 
impression  in  the  public  mind  that  the  profession  is 
becoming  mercenary.  This  opinion  is  strengthened 
by  the  prevalent  methods  of  self-advertising.  Medi- 
cal etiquette  is  often  carried  too  far,  and  is  regarded 
by  laymen  as  dictatorial  and  coercive.  Common 
sense,  good  faith,  discretion  and  gentlemanly  feel- 
ing are  the  be^  guides  to  follow  in  the  doctor's  rela- 
tions with  society  and  with  one  another.  Tact,  grav- 
ity, and  a  calm  and  even  temper  are  the  three  2^(^rsonal 
qualities  of  greatest  use  to  a  physician.  Affirmation 
is  more  acceptable  to  most  persons  than  discrimina- 
tion.    One  must  at  least  appear  to  have  self-confi- 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?     185 

dence  to  gain  the  confidence  of  others.  The  physi- 
cian often  has  to  decide  promptly  to  satisfy  the 
patient  or  the  patient's  friends,  when  he  would  prefer 
to  deliberate.  A  certain  facility  in  arriving  rapidly 
at  sound  conclusions  is  gained  by  experience,  but 
tact  will  enable  one  to  postpone  a  final  judgment,  or 
to  avoid  expressing  it  in  too  positive  a  form.  A  ca- 
pacity for  the  ready  invention  of  expedients  will  also 
prove  serviceable.  Dr.  Weir  Mitchell  justl^^  com- 
plains of  those  patients  who  "  ask  instant  treatment 
when  we  know  that  time  is  what  we  want,  either  for 
the  study  of  present  symptoms,  or  to  enable  the 
growing  disorder  to  spell  itself  out  for  us,  as  it  were, 
letter  by  letter,  until  its  nature  becomes  clear."  An 
English  physician  was  visiting  a  ver}-  sick  nobleman. 
The  patient's  wife  inquired,  "  WTiat  do  you  think  of 
the  baron,  Sir  X.  ?"  Folding  his  arms,  as  was  his 
wont,  and  looking  fixedly  from  under  his  long,  over- 
hanging ej'ebrows  into  the  baroness'  eyes,  he  re- 
plied very  slowly  and  deliberately-,  "Wliat  do  you 
think,  baroness?"  "I  think  him  very  ill,"  was  the 
reply.  "So  do  I,"  responded  Sir  X.,  very  solemnly. 
He  then  said,  "Good-night,  baroness,"  and  de- 
parted, leaving  a  profound  impression,  but  ^-ithout 
having  given  any  definitely  expressed  opinion. 

The  hotel  physician  in  a  large  city  lives  comforta- 
bly, makes  money,  and  comes  in  contact  with  persons 
of  wealth  and  prominence,  but  ho  fails  to  form  perma- 
nent connections  with  families  who  will  regard  him 
as  a  friend  as  well  as  a  ph3'sician,  while  ho  is  ajit  to 
become  too  fond  of  his  ease  and  so  lose  interest  in  his 
profession. 

The  3'oung  physician  has  to  contend  with  the  natii- 


180       What  Shall  Our  Bot/s  Do  for  a  Living? 

ral  projudico  against  youth  and  inexperience,  which 
he  tries  to  combat  bj  growing  a  beard,  wearing  spec- 
tacles, and  putting  on  all  the  dignity  of  age  that  he 
can  assume.  But  the  public  sometimes  prefers  a 
young  man  because  he  is  full  of  enthusiasm,  and 
fresh  from  the  hospitals,  with  the  latest  ideas  and  ex- 
perience. He  throws  himself  into  a  case  with  ardor 
and  his  zeal  inspires  confidence,  and  is  sure  to  bring 
practice.  I  recall  one  young  doctor  who  said  he 
would  rather  practise  without  pay  than  not  practise 
at  all.     Such  men  always  succeed. 

Here  are  some  examples  of  men  who  have  won 
their  way :  Dr.  Forbes  Wilson,  the  English  expert  on 
insanity,  arrived  in  London  with  a  couple  of  shillings 
in  his  pocket.  He  reported  Parliamentary  speeches, 
after  which  he  would  work  by  candle-light  in  the  dis- 
secting-room, into  the  early  hours.  When  he  died  in 
1874  he  was  an  acknowledged  leader  in  the  profes- 
sion. Dr.  Fordyce  Barker's  father  gave  him  $100 
and  a  horse,  and  told  him  to  start  out  for  himself. 
He  rode  until  his  money  was  gone.  Finding  himself 
in  Norwich,  Conn.,  he  determined  to  stay  there.  A 
paper  which  he  read  on  obstetrics,  before  the  State 
Medical  Association,  led  to  his  being  invited  to  New 
York  to  fill  a  professor's  chair.  For  a  few  years  he 
had  a  hard  struggle,  but  when  Bellevue  was  opened 
and  he  was  made  obstetrical  physician  his  prosperity 
began.  Dr.  James  B.  Wood  came  from  Vermont  to 
New  York  and  took  charge  of  the  outdoor  branch  of 
Bellevue  Hospital.  He  received  no  pay,  but  the 
privilege  of  making  autopsies  upon  all  who  died  in 
the  hospital.  To  this  constant  practice  he  attributed 
much  of  his  skill  in  surgery.     He  also  introduced 


What  ShaJl  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?     187 

bedside  instruction,  w  bicli  created  great  enthusiasm 
among  the  students,  and  gave  a  new  zest  to  their 
studies. 

Sir  Andrew  Clark  was  a  great  doctor.  "  The  first 
practising  physician  in  Great  Britain,"  Mr.  Glad- 
stone called  him.  His  death  caused  unparalleled 
feeling  among  his  associates.  He  was  devoted  to 
his  profession.  He  worked  on  an  average  sixteen 
hours  a  day.  He  rarely  went  into  society,  yet  he 
never  seemed  in  a  hurry.  He  surprised  and  won  the 
confidence  of  his  patients  hy  his  seeming  absorption 
in  their  cases.  Even  as  a  boy  he  was  singularly  pure 
and  noble-minded,  and  his  whole  life  was  free  from 
self-interest.  Mr.  Gladstone  says :  "  During  twenty- 
five  years'  intercourse  I  do  not  recollect  ever  to  have 
heard  him  utter  a  single  word  relating  to  his  own 
convenience,  comfort  or  advantage."  His  practice 
was  largely  among  persons  of  wealth  and  rank,  in- 
cluding royalty.  He  left  a  largo  fortune.  He  was 
exceedingly  generous.  He  made  it  a  iiile  never  to 
request  or  demand  a  fee.  He  had  many  literary  and 
professional  men,  including  Tennyson  and  Gladstone, 
among  his  patients.  He  won  their  aflfection  and 
esteem  by  his  breadth  of  mind  and  lofty  nature.  In 
short,  in  his  case,  the  highest  professional  attain- 
ments were  combined  with  faith,  honor,  chivalry, 
nobility.  No  better  example  could  be  ofi'ered  to  tlio 
young  physician. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  ENGINEERING   PROFESSION. 

Its  Antiquity  and  Honors— Control  of  Natural  Forces— Pay 
of  Engineers— Blunders  of  Unskilled  Men— Qualifications  Re- 
quired— Need  of  Culture  and  Literary  Training— How  to  Handle 
Men— Fitness  for  Responsibility— School  or  Shop? 

The  engineer  is  of  ancient  lineage.  From  the  days 
of  Tubal  Cain,  tlie  first  worker  in  metals,  he  has  been 
honored  by  kings  and  recognized  as  a  public  bene- 
factor. George  Smith  found  the  title  "Master  of 
Works"  in  Assyria,  2,600  years  back.  Among  the 
designations  of  the  god  Yulcan  were  those  of  "  Lord 
of  Canals"  and  "Establisher  of  Irrigation  Works." 
Civilization  and  progress  are  largely  dependent  upon 
the  engineer's  labors.  He  builds  fleets  and  railwa3'S, 
which  bind  nations  together  in  commercial  relations. 
He  yokes  the  •vsdnds  and  waterfalls  to  grind  corn  or 
weave  cloth.  He  constructs  docks,  lighthouses,  aque- 
ducts, reservoirs,  canals,  sewers,  bridges  and  fortifi- 
cations. He  drains,  lights,  warms  and  ventilates 
buildings.  He  digs  mines;  irrigates  vast  territories ; 
drains  lakes ;  lifts  whole  cities  bodily  in  the  air ;  and 
performs  feats  which  make  Hercules'  labors  seem 
trifling.  To  quote  Sir  Frederick  Bramwell:  "The 
whole  of  the  material  needs  of  humanity,  and  many 
of  its  intellectual  requirements,  are  either  satisfied 


What  Shall  Our'  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      189 

through  the  labors  of  the  engineer,  or  are  under  obli- 
gations to  these  labors." 

A  prominent  public  man  showed  his  son  the  in- 
scription at  Niagara  Suspension  Bridge,  and  said: 
"I  would  rather  see  your  name  upon  such  a  tablet 
than  attached  to  the  highest  political  office." 

To  succeed  in  this  vast  field  of  effort  requires  trained 
capacity.  Eule-of-thumb  methods  will  not  serve.  A 
knowledge  of  scientific  principles  is  indispensable. 
One  must  also  love  the  work,  and  not  be  daunted  by 
hardships  and  disappointments. 

The  engineer  deals  with  tides,  floods,  cyclones  and 
electricity.  Charles  F.  Scott,  speaking  before  an  en- 
gineers' club,  said:  "Niagara  Falls  represents  six 
million  horse-power.  It  would  take  ten  times  the 
population  of  the  United  States  to  pump  the  water 
back  by  hand  as  fast  as  it  flows  over  the  falls."  This 
illustrates  the  tremendous  natural  forces  with  which 
the  engineer  deals.  He  has  to  guard  against  the 
insidious  influence  of  rust,  decaj-,  damp,  wear  and 
tear,  and  accident.  He  therefore  needs  to  be  far- 
sighted,  cautious,  patient  and  watchful,  and  to  be  a 
constant  student  of  phenomena. 

Untold  millions  have  been  wasted  on  schemes  laid 
out  by  half-trained  or  incapable  men.  Railways  badly 
built  or  wrongly  located;  unnecessary  tunnels  and 
bridges ;  reservoirs  and  canals,  where  not  enough  al- 
lowance had  been  made  for  friction  or  pressure ;  whole 
districts  sickened  by  badly  planned  drains ;  railway 
disasters  caused  by  imjjerfectly  built  bridges  or  em- 
bankments— these  failures  have  taught  business  men 
and  the  public  the  value  of  skilled  engineering  talent. 

Few  engineers  become  rich.     Professional  advice 


190     JVhat  SJiall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  LiuiiKj  ? 

has  only  lately  been  rated  at  its  true  value.  Young 
engineers  often  receive  less  wages  than  mechanics. 
Many  municipal  engineers  are  paid  miserable  salaries. 
The  same  is  true  of  engineers  emi)loyed  by  many  rail- 
way and  other  corporations. 

Where  vast  moneyed  interests  are  involved  expert 
advice  is  well  paid.  In  1884,  Captain  Eads  received 
$15,000  for  a  report  on  the  Manchester  Ship  Canal, 
which  occupied  four  months'  time  to  prepare.  Bald- 
win Latham  was  paid  $50,000  and  expenses  for  con- 
sultation relative  to  the  Bombay  sewerage  system.  As 
the  work  cost  $16,000,000,  the  fee  was  small  in  com- 
parison to  the  responsibility.  James  Mansergh,  of 
England,  received  $15,000  for  a  report  on  the  Toronto 
water  supply.  Eudolph  Hering  and  J.  H.  Feurtes, 
of  New  York,  for  their  joint  services  in  examining  the 
sanitary  condition  of  Santos,  Brazil,  were  paid  $65,- 
000,  about  four  per  cent  on  the  cost  of  the  work 
planned.  The  time  consumed  was  about  one  year. 
Many  of  the  great  engineering  feats,  like  the  new 
Croton  Aqueduct  and  East  Kiver  Bridge,  were  per- 
formed by  salaried  men.  The  heads  of  many  rail- 
ways, however,  have  princely  pay;  for  example, 
Presidents  Roberts  and  Thomson  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad,  while  President  Galloway,  of  the  New  York 
Central,  who  in  1863  earned  $8.33  a  month  as  a  boy 
of  twelve  in  Canada,  now  receives  $50,000  a  year  as 
Chauncey  Depew's  successor. 

W.  F.  Goodhue  states  that  he  received  $12,000  for 
six  years'  labor  in  rebuilding  a  Western  railroad, 
while  a  lawyer  who  acted  as  receiver  was  paid  ten 
times  as  much,  though  the  property  deteriorated  under 
his  management.     He  adds  that  it  is  not  a  question 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      191 

of  natural  ability.  If  engineers  were  as  broadly  and 
liberally  educated  as  lawyers,  their  chances  should 
be  equal.  Engineers  fail  to  hold  their  own  because 
they  lack  knowledge  of  human  nature,  of  business 
methods,  and  of  book-keeping.  They  are  often  the 
slaves  of  details,  and  too  diffident  and  timid  in  man- 
ner. They  do  not  impress  their  clients  as  capable 
business  men,  as  did  Eads  and  the  younger  Eoebling. 
An  engineer  should  be  as  well  versed  in  business  as 
the  contractor  or  the  maker  and  dealer  in  materials, 
with  whom  he  comes  in  daily  contact. 

Civil  engineering  is  not  a  bonanza.  Only  the  best 
engineers  get  fair  salaries,  and  they  pay  dearly  for 
them.  Engineers  are  as  nomadic  as  Arabs.  Thej' 
cannot  half  educate  their  children.  Their  homes 
might  as  well  be  on  wheels.  They  are  sent  hither 
and  thither,  and  endure  all  manner  of  hardshii)S.  A 
prominent  engineer  says :  "  I  once  went  with  a  party 
to  locate  a  branch  of  the  Pacific  Railway.  We  were 
in  the  wilderness,  away  from  all  comforts,  sleeping 
with  mules  and  horses,  and  yet  8300  a  month  was 
thought  exorbitant  pay.  I  met  some  time  ago  the 
engineer  who  built  the  Panama  Eailroad.  He  has 
never  known  a  healthy  day  since.  Aspinwall  paid 
him  $5,000  a  year  on  condition  that  he  should  aid  the 
young  members  of  the  i^rofession.  But  what  is  §5,000 
to  a  man  who  is  a  total  wreck?"  Notwithstanding 
this  toil  and  hazard,  so  long  as  man  wills  to  subdue 
the  forces  of  nature,  or  to  alter  the  face  of  the  earth 
for  his  convenience,  so  long  will  bravo  and  skilful  men 
be  found  to  do  it. 

In  1893  the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers 
had  1,700  members ;  tho  American  Institute  of  Mining 


192     JFhat  Shall  Our  Boys  I)o  for  a  Living  ? 

Engineers,  2,500  members;  the  American  Society 
of  Mechanical  Engineers,  1,700  members;  and  the 
American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers,  700  mem- 
bers; a  total  of  6,000.  The  British  Institute  of  Civil 
Engineers  numbers  6,000,  and  the  Verein  Deutscher 
Ingenieure  is  an  ecjuallj  large  body. 

Many  eminent  engineers  had  no  systematic  train- 
ing. Watt  and  Smeaton  were  instrument  makers; 
Telford  was  a  mason;  and  George  Stevenson  an  en- 
gine-driver. They  all  possessed  special  aptitude,  and 
were  hard  students.  They  spent  years  of  weary  work 
in  acquiring  what  would  now  be  a  short  and  pleasant 
task.  An  engineer  of  great  eminence,  when  speaking 
to  a  student  of  the  facilities  now  afforded  for  study, 
said :  "  With  a  great  sum  obtained  I  this  freedom, 
but  you,  like  St.  Paul,  were  free  born." 

The  apprentice,  who  formerly  worked  from  6  a.m. 
to  6  P.M.,  had  to  grope  painfully,  in  the  dark,  for 
knowledge.  Old  mechanics  are  shy  to  impart  infor- 
mation, which  they  consider  part  of  their  stock  in 
trade.  Again,  much  "picked-up"  knowledge  is  not 
accurate.  It  is  also  apt  to  be  confined  to  special  lines 
of  work,  instead  of  covering  the  whole  engineering 
field  and  including  scientific  principles,  a  knowledge 
of  which  is  necessary  to  understand  the  "why"  of 
everything.  Imagine  a  man  trying  to  master  mathe- 
matics without  a  teacher.  It  has  been  done,  but  at 
what  waste  of  time  and  effort. 

Such  accuracy  has  now  been  reached  that  when  the 
tunnel-headings  of  the  new  Croton  Aqueduct  were 
joined  there  was  a  discrepancy  in  the  borings  of  only 
five-eighths  of  an  inch.  In  the  Hoosac  Tunnel  the 
difference  was  the  same.     In  the  Mont  Cenis  Tunnel 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?     193 

there  were  three  feet  of  variation,  which  was  consid- 
ered "almost  exact." 

Professor  Thurston,  of  Cornell,  says ;  "  Good  mental 
capacity,  strong  sense,  and  a  taste  for  applied  science, 
especially  mathematics,  afford  the  best  guarantee  for 
success  in  this  field.  Practice  in  free-hand  drawing 
will  prove  an  invaluable  \ie\\};  and  a  knowledge  of 
chemistry,  i^hysics,  especially  heat,  light  and  elec- 
tricity, will  be  found  useful."  He  adds:  "The  bet- 
ter the  man,  the  better  the  graduate."  He  suggests 
that  a  young  man  should  master  algebra  through  radi- 
cal quantities,  the  fii'st  five  books  of  geometry,  study 
American  histor}',  rhetoric,  and  exercise  himself  in 
writing  on  familiar  subjects.  Such  a  preparation  can 
be  had  at  any  good  school. 

Full  details  regarding  engineering  schools  and 
courses  may  be  obtained  from  the  secretaries  of  the 
national  engineering  societies  in  New  York. 

The  demand  for  a  high  grade  of  technical  training 
has  kept  pace  with  the  supply.  In  188G  there  were 
only  ten  engineering  graduates  from  Cornell.  In  1892 
there  were  ninety.  There  are  now  some  ninety -four 
engineering-schools  in  the  country.  The  graduates 
of  Cornell  and  Stevens  Institute  have  easily-  found  em- 
ployment and  been  rapidly  advanced  at  the  latter 
institution;  a  third  of  the  students  have  had  i)laces 
waiting  for  them  before  commencement  daj*.  The 
same  is  true  in  prosperous  years  of  the  graduates  of 
the  Schools  of  Mines  and  Engineering,  Columbia  Uni- 
versity. 

Henry  Hackney,  a  Cornell  graduate  of  the  class  of 
'76,  received  $1,200  the  first  year,  and  steadily  ad- 
vanced until  he  was  engaged  for  three  years  at  $12,000. 
13 


194     IVhat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livincj  ? 

Engineer  McNulty,  wlio  had  charge  of  the  Brooklj-n 
end  of  the  East  Kiver  Bridge,  was  the  youngest  man 
in  the  force.  When  refused  a  position,  because  only 
skilled  men  were  wanted,  he  pluckily  offered  to  work 
for  nothing.  The  trustees  were  soon  glad  to  pay  him 
a  salary,  and  steadily  increased  it.  He  graduated 
from  this  school  of  experience  with  credit. 

Lowell  says :  "  Special  culture  is  the  gymnastic  of 
the  mind,  but  liberal  culture  is  its  healthy  exercise  in 
the  open  air.  Train  your  mental  muscles  faithfully 
for  the  particular  service  to  which  j'ou  intend  to  de- 
velop them  in  the  great  workshop  of  active  life,  but 
do  not  forget  to  take  your  constitutional  among  the 
classics,  no  matter  in  what  language.  That  is  the 
kind  of  atmosphere  to  oxygenate  the  blood  and  keep 
the  brain  wholesome."  The  relation  between  techni- 
cal and  general  training  could  hardly  be  more  tersely 
expressed. 

Eossiter  W.  Raymond  remarks  in  reference  to  the 
value  of  general  culture  to  the  engineer :  "  Success  is 
asocial  matter;  it  depends  upon  a  man's  influence 
over  men.  Knowledge  of  facts  and  laws  in  nature  will 
not  achieve  it.  The  most  thorough  metallurgist  or 
engineer  needs  to  be  able  to  make  other  men  recognize 
his  ability.  Nay,  long  before  he  can  acquire  thor- 
oughness he  is  dependent  upon  other  men  for  every 
chance  of  practice.  A  liberal  education  gives  power 
over  men;  and  the  technical  education,  which  gives 
power  over  matter,  will  be  t^dce  as  easily  gained  if  it 
is  grounded  on  the  mental  discipline  and  the  moral 
strength  of  a  culture  wider  than  its  own." 

G.  F.  Deacon,  an  eminent  English  engineer  and 
President  of  the  Mechanical  Section  of   the  British 


What  Sluill  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      li)5 

Association,  lays  special  stress  upon  the  value  of 
training  in  literary  expression  and  of  the  importance 
of  "  tlie  power  of  marshalling  facts,  and  so  thinking  or 
speaking  or  writing  of  them  that  each  maintains  its 
true  significance  and  value.  In  the  minds  of  many 
young  engineers  a  mathematical  training  undoubtedly 
has  the  effect  of  making  it  extremel}^  difficult  to  avoid 
spending  an  amount  of  time  upon  some  issues  entirely 
out  of  projiortion  to  their  importance;  while  other 
issues  which  do  not  lend  themselves  readily  to  mathe- 
matical treatment,  but  which  are  many  times  more 
important,  are  taken  for  granted,  upon  utterly  insuffi- 
cient data,  and  chiefly  because  thej^  cannot  be  treated 
by  any  process  of  calculation."  President  George  F. 
Swain,  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  says : 
"  The  engineer  should  make  himself  first  a  good  en- 
gineer, and  secondly  a  man  of  broad  and  liberal  sym- 
pathies." Not  every  j'oung  engineer  need  take  a  col- 
lege course,  but  he  ought  to  gain  breadth  of  culture. 
President  Swain  thinks  the  engineering  societies 
should  have  several  grades  of  membership,  and  edu- 
cation should  be  regarded  as  equal  to  very  consider- 
able practical  experience.  Alexander  S.  Holley  de- 
plored the  lack  of  high  culture  and  general  education 
among  engineers,  and  declared  that  both  wore  essen- 
tial to  success  in  the  profession.  The  late  Professor 
Cooke,  i)rofessor  of  chemistry  at  Harvard,  in  one  of 
his  last  papers,  advocated  a  broader  education  for 
scientific  men.  He  was  always  a  disbeliever  in  an 
exclusively  scientific  education. 

G.  F.  Deacon  sa3S :  " It  is  a  matter  of  general  ex- 
perience among  engineers  who  have  closely  watched 
the  rising  generation,  that  the  most  successful  men  in 


196      What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  fvr  a  Living  ? 

after-life  are  not  produced  exclusively  from  the  rauks 
of  those  whose  college  course  has  been  most  success- 
ful. No  doubt,  such  men  have,  on  the  average,  been 
nearer  the  top  than  the  bottom,  but  it  is  an  undoubted 
fact  that  when  we  class  them  according  to  their  earlier 
successes  or  failures,  we  find  the  most  remarkable  dis- 
parities." Professor  Hutton,  of  Columbia  Univer- 
sity, has  the  same  opinion. 

The  surest  test  of  a  man's  education  is  whether  it 
fits  him  to  accept  responsibilities.  O.  F.  Nichols 
said  to  the  students  of  the  Kensselaer  Polytechnic: 
"  It  is  wonderful  how  rapidly  young  graduates  develop 
as  resi^onsibility  is  thrust  upon  them.  No  man  can 
be  criticised  for  accepting  a  position  for  which  he  is 
not  fully  prepared,  but  he  deserves  severest  censure 
if  he  fails  to  qualify  himself  to  fill  it."  "I  never 
built  anything  of  the  kind,"  said  a  graduate  in  charge 
of  a  most  important  work,  "  and  I  know  nothing  about 
it,  but  I  will  know  all  about  it  before  I  get  through 
with  it.  The  difiiculties  generally  come  singly,  and 
you  have  time  to  meet  and  master  one  before  another 
comes.  If  you  want  a  position,  take  it.  If  30U 
learned  anything  at  Troy,  you  learned  how  to  find  out 
what  you  do  not  know." 

Foster  Crowell,  C.E.,  advised  engineering  students 
to  learn  how  to  handle  men,  and  to  make  careful  notes 
of  their  working  capacity,  so  as  to  know  what  can  be 
expected  of  them,  what  thej^  cost,  and  what  their  ser- 
vice is  worth. 

The  man  who  has  dug  a  trench,  felled  a  tree,  or 
laid  a  drain-pipe  or  rail,  with  his  own  hands,  is  bet- 
ter fitted  to  direct  others  than  one  who  has  never  done 
such  things.     When  W.  E.  Worthen  was  appointed 


What  Slmll  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?     197 

engineer  of  the  New  York  Health  Board,  he  learned 
to  "wipe"  a  i^lumber's  joint — not  an  easy  thing,  by 
the  way — so  as  to  comprehend  all  his  duties.  One 
never  fully  grasps  a  principle  until  it  has  been  ai:)plied 
in  practice.  Soaking  a  piece  of  brick  in  kerosene  and 
then  lighting  it  like  a  torch  impresses  upon  the 
mind,  better  than  any  theorizing,  the  way  in  which 
dampness  rises  in  house-walls  by  cajjillary  attrac- 
tion, just  as  Professor  Doremus'  beautiful  exi^eri- 
ment  of  blowing  out  a  caudle  through  a  foot  of  sand- 
stone demonstrates  the  porosity  of  houses  under 
wind-pressure.  What  is  wanted  is  what  Holley  called 
"a  hand-to-hand"  knowledge,  acquired  systemati- 
cally and  confirmed  by  investigation.  He  strongly 
advised  students  not  to  accept  second-hand  informa- 
tion, but  to  ferret  out  for  themselves  the  facts  and 
their  meaning. 

Charles  E.  Emery,  C.E.,  in  an  addi*ess  before  the 
Stevens  Institute,  on  "  How  to  Succeed,"  said  the  great 
secret  is  to  start  right.  "  If  it  were  possible  to  double 
the  length  of  the  course  of  study  and  have  the  school 
in  a  large  manufactory,  principles  and  practice  would 
be  systematically  combined."  But  it  is  essential  that 
a  man's  early  years  should  be  spent  in  a  circle  of 
culture  and  refinement,  so  that  his  manners  and  bear- 
ing may  become  so  fixed  as  not  to  be  aft'ected  by  con- 
tact with  the  rough  externals  of  life.  Educated  men 
learn  practice  more  rapidly  than  others.  If  waiting 
for  a  position,  study  mechanical  operations  around 
you;  master  every  detail  and  the  principles  under- 
lying them.  Don't  ask  too  many  questions  or  offer 
suggestions,  lest  people  think  you  are  conceited  and 
bumjitious.     The  inspector  of  a  railway  asked   the 


198     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

engineer  in  charge:  "That  seems  to  bo  a  capable 
young  man;  where  did  you  find  him?"     "  Oh,  X.  sent 

him  from College.     He  was  a  tearer,  I  tell  you. 

Had  to  keep  him  in  the  shed  with  an  axeman  for  two 
days,  learning  how  to  make  centre  stakes.  He's 
done  pretty  well  since  then."  He  probably  wished 
he  had  not  offered  to  instruct  the  whole  party  how  to 
make  such  stakes !  Another  youngster  designed  an 
elaborate  apparatus  to  lift  an  engine  off  a  car,  which 
would  have  taken  days  to  build,  and  was  mortified  to 
find  that  the  work  had  been  done  with  an  improvised 
derrick  while  he  was  busy  at  his  drawing. 

If  engaged  in  an  office  or  manufactory,  adhere 
closely  to  the  usual  practice  of  the  place,  without  pro- 
posing new  methods,  which  for  special  reasons  may 
not  be  practicable.  Learn  the  use  of  tools,  how  to 
make  patterns,  and  master  mechanical  appliances 
and  processes.  Absorb  all  that  you  can,  even  from 
inferiors.  The  wise  man  "knows  what  he  don't 
know,"  and  seeks  information  from  every  source. 
To  make  correct  estimates,  one  must  be  exact  at  fig- 
ures, or  serious  loss  may  follow.  Do  not  be  carried 
away  by  the  spirit  of  invention  or  meddle  with  de- 
vices outside  of  your  special  field.  Never  invent  for 
the  sake  of  invention,  but  only  for  a  direct  purpose. 
Avoid  confidential  relations  with  contractors,  and 
rigidly  separate  business  from  sociability.  Do  not 
join  too  many  societies.  Preserve  your  health.  Men- 
tal strain  without  rest  means  certain  break-down. 
Night-work  is  not  necessarily  injurious,  but  lack  of 
nourishment  and  of  rest  cripples  the  strongest  and 
makes  him  succumb  to  lurking  diseases. 

Almost  alone  among  professional  men,  engineers 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      199 

are  fitted  by  training  and  experience  for  executive 
positions.  A  great  engineer  may  direct  an  indus- 
trial army.  Thousands  of  men  and  millions  of  mon- 
ey may  be  employed  in  a  great  railway,  while  an 
inter-oceanic  canal  becomes  an  affair  of  world-wide 
importance.  M.  Sadi-Carnot,  wlio  became  President 
of  the  French  Republic,  while  Minister  of  Public 
Works  had  a  staff  of  72  chief  engineers,  270  ordinary 
engineers,  and  1,000  assistant  engineers. 

The  United  States  is  perhaps  indebted  more  to  its 
engineers  than  any  other  set  of  men  for  its  marvel- 
lous development.  Yet  the  engineer  has  received 
almost  no  i)olitical  preferment.  This  is  probably  duo 
to  the  absence  of  certain  qualifications,  and  with  in- 
creased culture  and  opportunities  we  may  expect  to 
see  more  engineers  filling  such  positions  as  that  of 
Colonel  Waring,  the  Street-Cleaning  Commissioner  of 
New  York  City. 

Engineers  are  more  and  more  taking  up  special- 
ties. There  is  less  opportunity  for  the  free-lance. 
The  all-around  engineer  is  a  thing  of  the  past.  It 
is  wellnigh  impossible  for  a  man  to  be  eminent  in 
every  line.  He  is  the  employee  either  of  a  large  cor- 
poration or  of  a  municipality. 

One  great  field  of  the  future  is  municipal  engi- 
neering. There  is  a  growing  appreciation  in  munic- 
ipal administration  of  technically  trained  men,  in- 
stead of  i)oiitical  camp-followers.  The  wave  of  reform 
which  is  sweeping  over  the  country  with  the  spread 
of  civil-service  rules  will  create  a  steady  demand  for 
capable  men,  not  only  to  look  after  city  jMirks,  dt>cks, 
pavements,  but  also  to  manage  prisons,  almshouses, 
and  other  public  institutions.     The  extension  of  good 


200     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

roads  stimulated  by  the  wheelmen  is  leading  to  a 
demand  for  a  higher  grade  of  officials  to  construct 
and  maintain  roads.  Colonel  Waring  set  the  example 
of  employing  educated  young  men  as  foremen  and  dis- 
trict superintendents.  Professor  Chandler  gave  a 
preference  to  School  of  Mines  graduates  as  health 
inspectors. 

Whether  it  is  better  to  enter  the  school  or  the  shop 
first  is  an  open  question.  The  subject  was  fully  dis- 
cussed at  a  conference  of  American  engineers  some 
years  ago.  President  Holley,  of  the  Institute  of  Min- 
ing Engineers,  said :  "  The  art  must  precede  the  sci- 
ence. The  man  must  first  feel  the  necessity,  and 
know  the  directions  of  a  larger  knowledge,  and  then 
he  will  master  it  through  and  through.  Many  men 
have  acquired  a  more  useful  knowledge  of  chemistry 
in  the  spare  evenings  of  a  year  than  the  average 
graduate  has  compassed  during  his  whole  course." 
Beginning  with  theoretical  and  abstract  knowledge 
is  no  less  an  inverted  process  in  the  useful  arts  than 
in  the  fine  arts.  It  is  like  taking  a  course  of  Ruskin 
within  brick  walls  preparatory  to  opening  a  studio, 
and  then  climbing  the  mountains  to  square  nature 
with  the  books. 

Professor  Thurston  insisted  that  the  technical- 
school  graduate  who  enters  practical  work  labors 
under  disadvantages  compared  with  the  youth  who 
has  had  some  experience.  The  former  may  possess 
learning,  a  well-trained  mind,  and  sound  judgment, 
but  he  lacks  knowledge  of  men  and  of  things,  which 
he  can  only  obtain  by  personal  contact.  He  cannot 
manage  employees  without  making  unreasonable  de- 
mands upon  them  or  yielding  more  than  is  just.     He 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      201 

knows  nothing  of  business  methods,  and  is  not  accus- 
tomed to  hard  rubs. 

In  "  Chordal's  Letters"  both  sides  of  the  (luestion 
are  so  hai)inly  presented  that  I  make  a  lengthy  cita- 
tion :  "  Something  must  be  done  with  my  oldest  boy, 
Joe.  He  has  been  knocking  around  the  shop  during 
his  idle  hours,  and  has  developed  a  certain  amount 
of  original  talent.  He  has  never  worked  in  the  shop, 
but  has  wanted  to  very  much.  His  originality  takes 
a  critical  turn  as  well  as  a  constructive  one.  He  got 
into  the  true  inwardness  of  one  of  my  mechanical 
schemes,  and  I  caught  him  expressing  his  opinion 
of  the  machine  in  a  way  which  jGilled  me  with  pride 
and  mortification.  Some  of  his  remarks  were  not 
very  complimentary  to  the  skill  and  good  judgment 
of  the  elder  Chordal.  I  had  to  find  my  consolation 
in  the  critical  ability  displayed  by  the  young  man. 
Joe's  future  is  a  mechanical  one.  I  have  never  let 
my  investigations  into  the  boy's  character  take  a  sug- 
gestive turn,  and  for  this  reason  I  can  speak  with 
some  certainty  of  the  real  bent  of  his  mind.  What 
I  am  studying  on  is  how  to  arrange  matters  to  the 
best  advantage;  how  to  start  Joe  in  the  best  channel. 
This  is  a  subject  which  interests  other  people  with 
other  brilliant  Joe's  on  their  hands ;  otherwise  I  would 
not  broach  the  subject. 

"When  I  say  Joe's  future  is  a  mechanical  one, 
what  do  I  mean?  Is  he  to  be  a  master-mechanic  of 
railroads,  or  is  he  to  have  M.E.  on  the  end  of  his 
name,  and  do  the  scheming  and  general-tulont  busi- 
ness for  largo  concerns?  Is  he  to  bo  interested  solely 
in  construction  and  become  a  cai)able  sui)erint€ndent? 
Is  he  to  bo  a  managing  proprietor?     Or  is  ho  to  be- 


202      WJiat  Slmll  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

como  a  power  to  appeal  to  in  matters  mechanical, 
and  be  the  counsellor  of  all  who  see  fit  to  come?  I 
don't  know  which  of  these  specific  niches  Joe  will 
stand  himself  in,  and,  more  than  that,  I  don't  care. 
I  only  know  that,  whichever  way  his  lines  may  fall, 
he  will  be  none  the  worse  for  having  some  direct  and 
intended  preparation.  By  preparation  I  mean  edu- 
cation, that  substantial  substructure  on  which  all 
experience  is  valuable  for  being  founded. 

"As  Joe's  mind  has  taken  a  mechanical  direction, 
I  have  been  nosing  around  among  the  credentials,  to 
wit,  the  output  of  our  technical  schools,  and  as  a  re- 
sult have  chosen  one.  Joe  is  now  in  condition  to  enter 
any  of  them,  and  the  question  with  me  is,  whether 
to  recommend  him  to  pack  up  and  enter  college,  or  to 
lay  in  a  stock  of  overall-stuff  and  go  into  the  shop. 
You  will  agree  with  me  that  he  must  not  do  both  of 
these  things  at  the  same  time.  Which  had  better  be 
done  first? 

"  Suppose  he  puts  on  good  clothes  and  goes  to  col- 
lege. From  the  very  start  he  will  assume  upon  the 
future  great  position  he  will  take  in  the  world.  He 
will  assume  that  he  went  to  college  because  he  was 
a  superior  sort  of  a  Joe,  none  of  your  common  stuff. 
He  will  develop  the  proper  ambition  and  superiority, 
and  will  receive  the  encouraging  smiles  of  his  in- 
structors. He  will  study  hard,  and  under  the  guid- 
ance of  capable  and  wise  instructors  will  gradually 
absorb  that  very  knowledge  he  went  after.  Some 
fine  day  he  will  return  and  laj-  before  me  his  sheep- 
skin, and  an  admirable  and  realh^  original  and  excel- 
lent thesis,  and  drawings  most  skilfully  executed  by 
his  own  hands,  aided  by  facilities  in  the  way  of  rul- 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?     203 

ing-macliiues  wLicli  be  may  never  Lope  to  see  again. 
I  will  feel  the  warmest  pride  in  tliis  boy  of  mine,  and 
in  answer  to  liis  inquiries  I  will  probably  say,  'Go 
out  and  try  the  world,  Joe. ' 

"  In  about  three  weeks  a  young  man  by  the  name 
of  Chordal  will  call  on  me  and  eloquently  express 
himself  on  the  unappreciativeness  of  a  bigoted  world 
that  don't  know  what  is  good  for  it.  Joe  will  tell  me 
of  his  conference  with  Mr.  Simpson,  who  acknowl- 
edges that  his  business  is  falling  ofl',  on  account  of 
a  lack  of  engineering  ability  in  superintending  the 
erection  of  his  work.  Oh,  yes;  Joe  feels  capable, 
and  fearlessly  goes  off  fdij  miles  to  superintend  fif- 
teen men  putting  machinery  into  a  big  brewery. 
Men  say  to  Joe,  '  What  do  you  want  done  first?' 
Joe  says,  '  I  don't  know. '  Men  say,  '  This  big  pulley 
came  from  the  shop  without  being  balanced;  the 
shaft  runs  thirty  revolutions;  shall  Ave  let  it  go?' 
Joe  says,  '  I  don't  know.'  Men  want  to  know  which 
of  the  two  kinds  of  babbitt  this  box  is  to  be  poured 
with.  Joe  don't  know.  The  leading  man  of  the  gang 
writes  to  Simpson  that  young  Chordal  is  a  nice  fellow 
and  smart  as  blazes,  but  don't  know  anything.  Simp- 
son recalls  his  executive  ofiicer,  and  in  a  fatherly 
manner  advises  him  to  go  into  a  shop  and  learn  the 
trade,  and  tells  him  he  will  make  his  mark.  Joe, 
the  superior  Joe,  made  of  superior  stuff,  born  to  lead 
in  his  chosen  line,  trimmed  to  fit  in  the  best  techni- 
cal schools,  author  of  a  thesis  on  centrifugal  gover- 
nors having  valves  unalterably  related  to  the  'centri- 
fugal elements,'  this  Joe  was  not  born  to  learn  a 
trade. 

"  I  make  no  suggestions  to  Joe,  and  bid  him  gootl- 


204     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

by  as  he  starts  on  another  Quixotic  expedition. 
Two  brief  weeks,  and  I  again  take  his  hand.  This 
hand  seems  to  have  grown  smaller  and  not  quite  so 
self-important  in  its  grip.  I  ask  after  his  conquests. 
He  grimly  and  grittily  smiles,  and  proceeds ;  says  he 
went  down  to  Philadelphia,  and  went  to  William  Sel- 
lers &  Co.,  whom  he  had  been  corresponding  with 
ever  since  he  went  to  college.  They  build  machine- 
tools;  and  at  college  their  machine-tools  were  held 
up  to  him  as  exponents  of  perfection,  as  test-chan- 
nels for  design.  He  is  nicel}'  received,  and  encour- 
agingly talked  to.  He  is  asked  if  he  is  willing  to 
spend  a  few  years  in  the  shop.  He  answers  he  is 
not  born  for  a  machinist,  but  for  an  engineer.  If 
Sellers  &  Co.  can  put  him  on  a  low  round  of  the 
engineering  ladder  in  some  place,  he  will  be  very 
much  obliged;  if  not,  then  he  will  see  some  other 
parties  he  wots  of.  They  appreciate  the  situation, 
and  with  real  regard  for  the  young  man  they  own  to 
such  a  ladder  being  on  the  premises ;  nay,  more,  they 
acknowledge  that  some  of  the  lower  rounds  still  re- 
main. Joe  is  invited  to  ascend,  without  any  engage- 
ment which  might  result  in  mortifying  termination. 
He  reports  next  morning  with  a  few  classical  books, 
and  a  kit  of  drawing  instruments  of  the  most  marvel- 
lous character.  Each  individual  instrument  and  piece 
of  instrument  fits  in  a  velvet  bed,  and  each  time  he 
wants  to  use  something  back  in  the  case  he  must  dis- 
member the  whole  thing  and  screw  in  all  adjusting 
screws.  His  eight-inch  compasses  fit  in  the  case 
when  both  triangular  points  are  in,  a  condition  in 
which  no  man  on  earth  ever  uses  them.  He  looks 
around  among  the  draughtsmen,  and  thinks  that  his 


What  SJiuU  Oar  Boys  Bo  for  a  Living  ?      205 

eight-incli  compasses  cost  more  than  all  tlieir  instru- 
ments put  together.  He  wonders  liow  the}-  can  do 
any  refined  engineering  with  such  tools,  and  the  other 
draughtsmen  look  at  his  kit  and  wonder  if  that  young 
man  expects  to  do  any  quantity  of  practical  work 
with  such  tools,  in  such  a  case,  and  they  wonder  how 
long  it  will  be  before  he  will  have  them  loose  in  a 
cigar-box.  He  is  given  a  figured  pencil-sketch  of  a 
device,  and  is  told  to  follow  the  figured  sizes  and 
form,  but  to  detail  it  for  shop-use.  Do  no  scheming 
whatever,  but  draw  only.  He  does  so.  The  draughts- 
men admire  the  skilful  execution,  and  the  powers  that 
be  do  the  same.  The  lines  are  clean-cut,  nicely 
joined,  and  have  extra  thickness  on  the  shadow  side. 
His  drawing  is  taken  away  for  an  hour  and  re- 
turned by  his  sponsor.  It  has  been  in  the  shop,  and 
Joe  expresses  his  horror  at  the  sacrilege.  The  sheet 
is  dirty  and  greasy,  and  only  his  fancy  shadow-lines 
can  be  seen.  Joe  scorns  to  ask  a  question,  and  sug- 
gests that  he  make  the  drawing  over  with  heavier 
lines.  He  does  so ;  sees  a  striking  resemblance  be- 
tween it  and  the  shop  drawings  around  him,  in  which 
he  saw  little  to  admire  before.  His  sponsor  calls 
again,  and  asks  if  it  will  be  safe  to  send  that  drawing 
to  Savannah  for  pattern-makers  and  machinists  to 
work  from.  Joe  asks  who  is  going  to  take  it,  and  is 
told  the  mail.  Joe  says  he  will  write  the  proper  ex- 
planations, and  does  so.  Twenty-two  pages  of  legal 
cap  to  one  sheet  of  detail  drawing.  Sponsor  asks 
what  the  legal  cap  is  for.  Joe  saj's  it  is  to  explain 
the  drawing.  Sponsor  asks  what  the  drawing  is 
for.  Joe  says  it  is  an  aid  to  the  legal  cap,  and  in 
return  is  told  that  drawings  are  sent  away  daily  with- 


206     What  Shall  Oar  Boys  Do  for  a  Liv'mrj  ? 

out  a  word  of  explaDation.  It  is  the  duty  of  detail 
drawings  to  explain  themselves  fully.  Joe  sees  he 
has  much  to  learn  about  drawings.  He  has  mastered 
the  art  and  that  is  all.  He  is  now  instructed  to  make 
a  drawing  of  a  two-foot  i^ullej' ,  six-inch  face,  propor- 
tions to  be  functionally  correct.  He  goes  at  it.  Re- 
fers to  Rankine  and  Weisbach  and  Willis  and  Fair- 
bairn,  but  never  to  Joe.  He  is  too  wise  for  that. 
He  gets  his  pulley  drawn,  and  is  told  to  go  down  in 
the  shop  and  compare  it  with  a  pulley  of  similar  size. 
He  does  so  and  doubts  his  eyes.  The  arms  of  the 
pulley  are  about  eight  times  as  heavy  as  the  arms  of 
his  drawing,  and  he  used  five  as  a  factor  of  safety, 
and  the  old  pulley  has  two  broken  arms.  He  goes 
back  and  figures  the  whole  thing  over.  He  takes  the 
data  of  strains  to  his  sponsor  and  asks  him  to  run 
over  them.  Same  results,  showing  calculation  to  be 
right.  Sponsor  asks  him  where  he  got  his  strain 
data  from.  Joe  says  from  the  beltage.  Sponsor 
asks  him  what  broke  the  old  pulley.  Joe  goes  in 
search  of  knowledge  and  finds  it  broken  in  casting, 
and  he  makes  his  first  memorandum  of  experience, 
namel}^ :  '  Belt-strains  are  not  the  heaviest  strains  a 
pulley-arm  may  be  subjected  to. '  His  sponsor  tells 
him  if  he  would  spend  a  few  years  in  the  shop  he 
would  learn  several  things  of  value. 

"  I  see  Joe  again.  He  tells  me  confidentially  that 
he  is  astonished  at  the  number  of  things  he  don't 
know,  which  he  must  know  before  anybody  will  pay 
him  ten  dollars  a  year  for  his  services.  He  has  spent 
a  year  coming  to  a  conclusion,  and  tells  me  he  will 
go  into  my  shop.  I  tell  him  no;  most  decidedly 
not.      He  must  go  a  hundi'ed  miles  from  me  or 


What  Shall  Oiir  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?     207 

any  one  else  he  can  lean  on.  He  can't  get  any  self- 
reliance  out  of  my  place. 

"Joe  apprentices  himself  in  a  shop,  and  wisely 
chooses  a  bad  shop.  No  reamers,  no  fancy  boring- 
bars,  no  twist-drills,  no  tools  big  enough  for  the  work, 
no  surfaced-plates,  no  scraped  angle-plates,  no  system, 
no  nothing.  When  Joe  graduates  from  this  place  he 
will  be  full  of  experience  indeed,  and  it  is  hardly 
likely  that  he  will  be  the  less  appreciative  of  real 
facilities  when  he  does  get  at  them.  His  constant 
letters  will  bear  constant  evidence  that  he  knows  the 
necessity  of  the  step,  but  feels  it  a  let-down.  He 
can't  get  into  full  sympathy  with  his  necessities.  He 
feels  out  of  place,  and  knows  he  is  not  in  i)lace.  It 
is  mortifying,  disagreeable,  hard,  up-hill  work.  He 
holds  a  college  degree,  but  his  soft  hands  got  hard 
and  callous,  and  big  cracks  have  opened  in  them,  and 
brass-dust  and  iron-dust  and  oil  and  dirt  have  got 
into  the  cracks,  and  he  always  has  a  rag  on  some 
finger.  Joe  will  feel  as  though  he  had  started  wrong 
in  some  way. 

"  At  a  late  educational  gathering,  Professor  Henkle, 
of  Salem,  Ohio,  wisel}-  stated  that  'education  is  power 
rather  than  readiness.'  Joe  will  appreciate  this, 
and  will  wish  the  readiness  had  come  first.  Joe's 
post-collegiate  shop-life  will  be  a  hard  one.  Now, 
suppose  I  don't  say  college  to  him ;  suppose  I  let  him 
go  into  some  miserable  shop  which  he  will  be  glad 
to  leave  for  higher  fields.  Will  not  the  seeds  carefully 
sown  by  college  professors  fall  in  ground  thirsty  for 
it,  ground  which  the  old  and  poor  and  half-satisfying 
crops  of  the  shoj)  experience  only  stirred  up  into 
sturdy,  ambitious  receptiveness?    Only  he  who  has 


208     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

been  atbirst  upon  the  barren  plains  can  appreciatively 
absorb  knowledge  of  certain  water-getting  processes. 
Will  it  not  be  better  to  clean  the  dirty  hands  than  to 
dirty  the  clean  ones'? 

"  Do  you  know  of  any  young  man  who  went  from 
college  to  shop,  and  wishes  he  had  reversed  the  order 
of  things?  Do  you  know  of  any  young  man  who 
went  from  shop  to  college  and  wishes  he  had  reversed 
the  order  of  things?" 

Professor  Morton  says,  after  a  youth  gets  into 
practical  work  it  is  hard  to  break  off  and  go  to  col- 
lege or  to  a  technical  school.  Usually  he  cannot  af- 
ford to  make  the  i^ecuniary  sacrifice.  Yet,  the  engi- 
neer of  a  local  gas-company  took  the  course  at  Stevens 
Institute  while  attending  to  his  daily  duties,  and  grad- 
uated with  honor. 


CHAPTEK  XXI. 

ELEMENTS    OF  SUCCESS. 

What  is  Success? — Men  with  a  Grievance— Average  Success- 
Opinions  of  Notable   Men— Model    Americans — The  Lesson  of 
Failure — Jowett's  Opinion — Early  Success  a  Drawback — How 
Not  to  Succeed. 

Every  young  man  should  strive  for  comfort  and 
independence.  Not  every  one  can  draw  a  prize  in 
the  lottery  of  life.  Artemus  Ward  proposed  to  or- 
ganize a  regiment  in  which  all  would  be  oflficers.  In 
real  life,  however,  the  rank  and  file  are  in  the  major- 
ity. I  would  not  discourage  the  ambitious,  but  I 
wish  to  make  it  evident  that  wealth  and  honors  can 
be  won  only  by  strenuous  effort,  combined  with  abil- 
ity and  physical  endurance.  While  the  race  is  not 
always  to  the  swift,  it  is  never  won  by  the  weak,  lazy 
or  stupid.  The  mass  of  mankind  therefore  must  be 
content  with  the  average  success.  Either  they  lack 
capacity  to  fill  the  higher  places,  or  energy  and  am- 
bition to  strive  for  them.  When  two  men  ride  a 
horse,  one  must  ride  behind.  The  majority  gradu- 
ally abandon  their  earh'  ambitions  and  are  content  to 
do  their  duty  in  the  position  in  which  fortune  has 
placed  them. 

Some  men  bewail  their  ill  luck,  and  claim  that  they 
have  not  received  their  just  deserts.  In  the  long  ruu, 
however,  the  mass  of  mankind,  so  far  as  material 
14 


210     JVhat  Slwbll  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

comforts  are  concerned,  reap  as  they  have  sown,  and 
receive  a  fair  return  for  their  labor.  Fortune  is 
fickle.  Sorrow,  sickness  and  failure  come  to  the  rich 
as  to  the  poor,  "  The  best-laid  schemes  o'  mice  an' 
men  gang  aftagley."  Therefore  it  is  well  to  accept 
the  inevitable,  and  not  rail  at  fate  and  become  that 
pitiable  object,  "the  man  with  a  grievance." 

Professor  Ely,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Labor  Move- 
ment," says :  "  It  is  unwise,  nay,  cruel,  to  assume  that 
every  youth  has  a  chance  to  become  rich,  famous  and 
powerful.  In  the  nature  of  things  the  vast  majority 
of  men  must  serve  in  the  ranks,  and  only  the  few  can 
become  generals,  colonels,  or  even  corporals."  The 
world  is  made  up  of  Lincoln's  "plain  people,"  who, 
as  George  Eliot  says,  are  the  salt  of  the  earth.  They 
have  their  full  share  of  happiness.  I  agree  with  Pro- 
fessor Ely  that  it  would  be  far  better  if  the  superior 
workman,  like  Felix  Holt  and  John  Burns,  would 
stick  to  their  crafts  and  help  their  fellows  rather  than 
strive  for  a  position  among  the  professional  or  com- 
mercial class.  On  the  other  hand,  no  one  can  succeed 
in  a  handicraft  who  has  not  an  aptitude  for  mechan- 
ics. There  is  no  more  sense  in  a  boy  becoming  a 
shoemaker  or  stone-mason,  simply  because  his  father 
sat  on  a  bench  or  handled  a  trowel,  than  for  the  son 
of  the  merchant  or  lawyer  to  follow  blindl}'  in  his 
footsteps. 

Bagehot  sums  up  the  philosophy  of  success  with 
his  usual  acumen :  "  The  prowling  faculties  will  have 
their  way,  those  who  hunger  and  thirst  after  riches 
will  have  riches,  and  those  who  hunger  not  will 
not" ;  and  so  all  success  is  largely  a  matter  of  will 
and  of  striving  hard  for  ^shat  one  deserves. 


TFJiat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      211 

I  am  not  attempting  to  elaborate  a  theory  of  life  as 
a  whole,  but  only  one  of  its  material  sides.  If  suc- 
cess means  to  be  rich  and  famous,  or  to  have  vigor 
and  good  looks,  then  the  mass  of  mankind  are  not 
successful.  Few  men  who  possess  ordinary  health 
and  industry  fail  to  earn  a  living.  Thousands  and 
tens  of  thousands,  by  prudence  and  economy,  obtain 
a  competence  and  fill  positions  of  trust  and  honor. 
The  squire,  the  deacon,  the  doctor,  the  pastor,  the 
local  editor,  and  the  mechanic  in  each  community, 
however  small,  gain  the  respect  of  their  neighbors 
and  wield  influence  not  to  be  despised.  These  men, 
who  are  great  in  their  little  world,  win  recognition  by 
the  same  qualities  which  bring  success  in  the  larger 
field. 

To  the  aspiring  youth  who  is  not  willing  to  take 
second  place  I  would  cite  Emerson's  words:  "O 
discontented  man,  if  there  is  anything  you  want,  pay 
the  price  and  take  it."  To  the  average  beginner,  I 
would  add,  look  around  and  see  what  people  in  gen- 
eral have  achieved  and  then  ask  yourself,  Do  I  deserve 
more? 

An  answer  to  the  question.  What  is  average  success? 
is  to  be  found  by  summarizing  the  earnings  of  workers 
in  this  country. 

Teachers,  clergymen,  clerks  and  bookkeepers  earn 
from  $300  to  $1,000  a  year.  The  800,000  railroad  em- 
ployees average  $60  a  month.  The  150,000  Govern- 
ment employees,  excluding  heads  of  departnieuts,  re- 
ceive from  $80  to  $150  a  month.  Even  in  New  York 
few  ])rofessioual  men  earn  more  than  a  compet<MK'e. 
The  average  income  of  doctors  and  dentists  is  $1,000, 
and  $1,200  to  $1,500  that  of  lawyers.     College  pro- 


212     Wfiat  Sludl  Oar  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

fessors'  salaries  average  from  $1,470  to  $2,015,  includ- 
ing those  i^aid  to  si)eciali8t8.  Governors  of  the  States 
on  an  average  receive  only  $3,000.  There  vrere  1,600 
applicants  for  the  position  of  letter-carrier  in  Boston, 
and  2,100  for  a  place  in  the  Philadelphia  Mint.  Po- 
sitions on  the  New  York  police  force  are  eagerly 
sought  after.  Let  a  vacancy  occur  anywhere  with  a 
salary  of  $1,500,  and  a  hundred  professional  men  will 
strive  for  it.  It  is  true  these  may  be  the  younger  or 
less  capable  men,  but  it  shows  how  uncertain  is  their 
calling.  There  were  20,933  names  on  the  New  York 
Civil  List  in  1896.  The  following  were  the  average 
salaries:  teachers,  under  $1,000;  policemen,  $1,200; 
firemen  and  postmen,  $1,000;  health  and  building 
inspectors,  $1,500;  department  clerks,  $1,200  to 
$1,500. 

Garfield  was  fond  of  repeating : 

"  Self -reverence,  self-knowledge,  self-control, 
.  These  three  alone  join  life  to  sovereign  power.  " 

The  first  question  put  to  an  applicant  for  any  place 
is,  "Are  you  trustworthy?"  Character  is  far  more 
important  than  skill.  Moral  qualities  may  not  count 
in  the  mere  drudge,  but  the  shiftless,  idle,  shirking 
fellow  is  not  wanted  by  any  one.  The  Bishop  of 
Manchester  said :  "  Success  in  life  is  due  mainh'  to 
plodding  industry ;  and  moral  qualities  count  far 
more  than  intellectual  brilliancy." 

True  success  in  the  long  run  comes  from  merit. 
Shams  won't  endure.  Even  a  patent  medicine  must 
have  some  real  value  to  sell  for  an}-  length  of  time. 
Lies  don't  last.  Fidelity,  energy  and  ability  alwaj's 
win.     It  exasperates   me  to  hear   people  speak  of 


What  Shall  Chir  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?     213 

shari)ness  and  trickery  as  the  only  means  to  success. 
The  trading  faculty  is  excellent  in  its  way,  but  a  good 
bargain  is  one  that  satisfies  both  buyer  and  seller. 
The  great  merchant  scorns  petty  means,  and  gains 
wealth  by  judgment  in  planning  and  by  skill  in  bu}'- 
ing  goods  that  the  public  need  at  a  low  price,  and  then 
selling  them  at  a  profit.  Archdeacon  Hall  said :  "  In 
bad  times  the  man  who  goes  first  to  the  wall  is  the 
man  of  little  brain,  of  no  imagination,  and  whose  un- 
trained faculties  perpetually  mortgage  the  morrow." 
Franklin  said :  "  The  way  to  wealth  is  as  plain  as  the 
way  to  market.  It  depends  chiefly  on  two  words, 
industry  and  frugality ;  that  is,  waste  neither  time 
nor  money,  but  make  the  best  use  of  both." 

Franklin's  example  points  the  way  to  advancement 
in  any  calling.  People  who  saw  him  working  early 
and  late,  and  wheeling  his  stock  of  pajjer  with  his 
own  hands  to  his  shop,  had  no  doubts  of  his  success. 
P.  T.  Barnum  made  a  vow  not  to  eat  a  hot  luncheon 
till  he  had  paid  for  the  American  Museum,  and  this 
little  incident  won  for  him  his  best  backer.  "  Keep 
thy  shop,  and  thy  shop  will  keep  thee,"  is  still  the 
sure  method  of  success. 

Napoleon  said :  "  Providence  is  on  the  side  of  the 
heaviest  artillery,"  but  to-day  the  man  behind  the 
gun  wins  the  fight.  Von  Moltke  showed  that  esiirit 
de  corps  is  a  vital  element  in  buttle.  It  was  a  favor- 
ite maxim  of  Macaulay  that  no  author  was  ever  writ- 
ten dowTi  but  by  himself,  and  that  success  is  to  be 
gained  b^^  "  industrious  thought  and  i)ationt  renunci- 
ation of  small  desires."  Sherman  held  this  conver- 
sation with  Grant  at  Shiloh :  "  Well,  Grant,  we've  had 
the  devil's  own  day,  haven't  we'?"     "Yes,"  he  said, 


214     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Liviyig  ? 

with  a  short,  sharp  puff  of  his  cigar;  "lick  'em  to- 
morrow, though," 

A  number  of  men  have  recentlj'  died,  who  were 
typical  Americans,  who  won  honors  without  taint  or 
discredit,  and  who  were  good  citizens  in  the  best 
sense.  I  refer  to  William  Windom,  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury;  Anthony  W.  Drexel  and  George  Coe 
among  business  men;  Generals  Sherman  and  Joe 
Johnston,  of  the  army ;  the  Kev.  Drs.  Howard  Crosby, 
Furness  and  Phillips  Brooks,  in  the  pulpit;  James 
Eedpath,  George  W.  Childs,  and  Keppler,  the  artist, 
in  journalism ;  George  Houghton  and  Koswell  Smith, 
the  publishers ;  Edwin  Booth  and  Lawi'ence  Barrett, 
among  actors ;  and  Gordon  Burnham  and  Bichard  T. 
Hunt,  the  architects.  They  all  left  clean  records, 
and  their  names  may  well  be  submitted  to  the  rising 
generation  as  examples  in  contrast  to  the  Wall  Street 
speculators,  railroad  wreckers,  and  rascally  politi- 
cians who  have  won  brief  notoriety. 

The  true  object  of  life  should  be  something  far 
higher  than  mere  material  success.  To  seek  fame 
and  fortune  is  to  possess  a  low  standard  of  achieve- 
ment. Every  man  should  strive  for  pecuniary  inde- 
pendence, but  beyond  that  "  there  is  only  accumula- 
tion," as  Chauncey  Depew  says;  "he  should  then 
seek  to  be  a  good  citizen,  neighbor  and  patriot." 
Theodore  Parker  said :  "  The  best  thing  which  you 
can  get  in  life  is  not  money,  nor  what  money  alone 
brings  with  it.  You  must  work  for  your  manhood 
as  much  as  for  your  money,  and  take  as  much  pains 
to  get  it  and  to  keep  it,  too." 

P.  T.  Barnum,  the  world-renowned  showman,  would 
be  cited  by  most  persons  as  an  example  of  remark- 


WJiat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      215 

able  success,  yet  he  met  with  repeated  failures  in 
early  life  and  remarkable  catastrophes  in  later  years. 
Four  times  he  was  burned  out.  Once  after  he  had 
become  rich  he  lost  his  entire  fortune,  and  was  sad- 
dled with  debts  that  required  years  to  pay.  With 
characteristic  grit  and  hopefulness  he  persevered, 
and  turned  defeat  into  victory.  When  lecturing  upon 
"How  to  Make  Money,"  he  jokingly  remarked  that 
the  title  ought  to  be  "How  to  Lose  Money."  His 
success  was  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  ho  always 
gave  the  public  the  full  worth  of  its  money  and  never 
humbugged  it,  except  by  the  dexterity  of  his  adver- 
tising methods.  "  Alexandre  Dumas  said :  Very  often 
an  unexpected  grief  or  an  unmerited  misfortune  gives 
to  a  man  an  energy  and  a  perseverance  which  he  could 
never  find  in  happiness.  And  after  such  trials  a  man 
often  becomes  superior  who  would  have  remained 
simple  and  vulgar  if  he  had  always  been  happy.  One 
may  expect  everything  from  a  man  of  energy  to  whom 
misfortune  has  given  courage  and  ambition."  A  dash 
of  adversity  quickens  the  wits,  as  a  stimulant  does 
the  blood.  Great  prosi:>erity  is  apt  to  be  dulling  in 
its  effects.  George  Macdonald  says :  "  The  rich  man 
has  a  monotonous  time  with  his  broad  ex]\anse  of 
blue  sky.  The  poor  man  sees  deeper  into  the  blue 
by  reason  of  the  clouds  that  frame  it  in  for  him." 
When  we  are  pushed,  defeated,  tormented,  wo  have 
a  chance  to  learn  something.  Josh  Billings  was 
past  forty-five  before  he  discovered  his  vocation.  He 
failed  throe  times  as  a  lecturer  before  he  succeeded. 
Bill  Nye  hardly  earned  his  salt  at  law  and  journal- 
ism, when  he  suddenly  jumped  into  an  income  up  in 
the  thousands.     Hawthorne  sat  in  the  Old  Munse  at 


216     WJiat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

Concord  "  a  long,  long  time,  waiting  i^atieutly  for  the 
world  to  know  me."  Zola  and  Taine  bore  pinching 
poverty  before  they  gained  recognition.  Edwin 
Booth  failed  utterly  in  London,  though  supported  by 
Macready.  Victorien  Sardou  endured  poverty  and 
bitter  disappointment  for  years.  Abraham  Lincoln, 
in  his  address  to  the  voters  of  Sangamon  County, 
asking  to  be  chosen  to  the  Legislature,  said,  with  a 
pathetic  reference  to  his  past  struggles :  "  But  if  the 
good  people  in  their  wisdom  shall  see  fit  to  keep  me 
in  the  background,  I  have  been  too  familiar  with  dis- 
appointments to  be  ver}^  much  chagrined." 

Jowett  in  early  life  suffered  many  privations.  His 
father,  "one  of  the  most  innocent  of  men,"  was  not 
successful.  Jowett,  therefore,  appreciated  the  value 
of  worldly  advancement.  "  The  clever  man,  devoid  of 
tact,"  he  says,  "often  remains  an  eccentric  boor. 
Success  is  to  be  won  by  absolute  disinterestedness 
and  a  love  of  knowledge  for  its  own  sake.  The  most 
important  element  is  personal  fitness.  There  are 
three  kinds  of  goods,  as  our  friend  Aristotle  would 
say — rank,  wealth  and  talent.  It  seems  to  me  that 
a  man  may  do  well  with  two  of  the  three.  With  the 
last  only,  life  is  a  painful  struggle."  Jowett  placed 
a  high  value  upon  the  discipline  of  struggle.  "I 
have  had  experience  of  uncomfortable  and  of  com- 
fortable surroundings.  When  I  was  uncomfortable, 
I  was  perhaps  more  useful.  I  believe  it  to  be  a  very 
good  thing  to  have  had  a  great  row  in  your  life,  be- 
cause, though  not  quite  pleasant  at  the  time,  it  gives 
you  a  position  and  places  you  above  the  world." 

Dr.  Richardson,  one  of  the  most  successful  writers 
and  lecturers  on  hygiene,  had  his  first  manuscript,  a 


WJiat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      217 

gold  medal  prize  essay  ou  "  Diseases  of  the  Foetus 
in  Utero,"  rejected  by  a  publisher,  who  thought  the 
title  demonstrated  that  the  author  could  not  write 
anything  the  world  would  read.  He  thereafter  culti- 
vated a  popular  and  untechnical  style  of  writing,  which 
attracted  many  readers.  Matthew  Arnold  expressed 
gratitude  and  surprise  at  finding  his  productions  ac- 
cepted by  the  public.  He  modestly  ascribed  his  suc- 
cess to  the  fact  that  it  had  been  given  to  him  "  to  find 
more  things  which  others  might  also  have  discov- 
ered than  that  he  had  seized  or  invented  them  by  su- 
perior power  and  merit," 

Sometimes  the  best  waj-  to  i)rove  a  principle  or  rule 
of  action  is  to  reverse  it.  To  the  youth  who  doubts 
the  value  of  industry,  intelligence,  energy,  pluck  and 
character  in  bringing  success,  I  would  ofifer  these 
brazen  rules : 

HOW   NOT  TO   SUCCEED   IN  LEFE, 

I  will  shut  my  eyes  to  all  noble  ideas.  I  will  keep 
myself  in  ignorance  of  all  that  men  have  discovered 
and  thought,  in  science,  literature  and  art.  I  will 
cultivate  a  love  of  ease  and  self-indulgence.  I  will 
dissipate  and  foster  extravagant  habits.  I  will  shirk 
honest  effort,  and  try  to  earn  the  most  pay  for  the 
least  work.  I  will  hate  my  fellow-men  and  try  al- 
ways to  get  the  better  of  them,  on  the  principle  that 
you  must  "  do"  them  or  they  will  "  do"  you.  I  will 
love  money  and  bow  down  to  the  Golden  Calf.  I  will 
never  cherish  a  lofty  ambition  or  do  a  generous  act. 
I  will  associate  only  with  my  inferiors  and  with  peo- 
ple who  will  drag  me  down  to  their  level.  I  will 
avoid  churches,  libraries,  lectures,  concerts  and  all 


218     JVhai  Sludl  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

other  good  agencies.  I  will  never  marry,  because  it 
costs  too  much  to  support  a  wife  and  family.  I  will 
never  vote,  because  it  is  a  waste  of  time.  I  will  never 
stop  trying  to  make  money  because  I  want  to  get  rich 
as  fast  as  I  can.  In  short,  I  will  love  only  myself, 
think  only  of  myself,  and  ever  strive  to  get  the  better 
of  the  other  fellow. 

How  many  young  men  have  practicallj'  adopted 
this  creed?  In  how  many  cases  has  it  brought  suc- 
cess? 

The  coming  men  who  are  destined  to  do  the  world's 
work  are  striving  and  planning :  on  the  farm,  like  Gar- 
field ;  or  sailing  on  the  Mississippi,  like  Lincoln  and 
Mark  Twain ;  in  the  steerage  of  the  immigrant  ship, 
like  John  Eoach ;  carrying  newspapers,  like  David  B. 
Hill  and  Charles  O'Conor;  setting  type  in  the  coun- 
try printing-office,  like  Horace  Greeley  and  W.  D. 
Howells ;  or  teaching  school,  as  so  many  thousands  of 
famous  Americans  have  done. 

Some  will  fall  by  the  wayside.  Some  will  yield  to 
sickness  or  to  bad  habits.  Those  who  succeed  will 
do  so  by  patient,  persistent  and  honest  work. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

BUSINESS. 

Meaning  of  the  Word — Training  for  Business — Boyish  Experi- 
ments—Andrew Carnegie  on  Business  Success — Foil}-  of  Specu- 
lating—High Salaries — Value  of  Prestige — Methods  of  Making 
Money — Foresight — Mastery  of  Details — Thrift — The  Risks  of 
Business — How  to  Win  Promotion — How  to  Fail  in  Business. 

Business  is  a  word  of  broad  signii&cance.  I  am 
concerned  only  with  its  commercial  meaning,  wliicli 
includes  mercantile  pursuits,  finance,  keeping  ac- 
counts, trade  and  commerce,  mining  and  manufactur- 
ing. 

Business  gives  scope  for  tlie  exercise  of  the  highest 
faculties ;  industry,  energy,  judgment,  and  all  the  best 
traits  of  human  nature.  No  one  will  deny  that  the 
business  man  performs  invaluable  ser^^.ce  to  society. 

The  prejudice  against  trade  is  fast  disappearing, 
even  in  the  Old  World.  In  England  the  members  of 
a  recent  Conservative  cabinet  held  sixty-four  director- 
ships in  various  companies.  The  question  there  is, 
not  how  to  keep  out  of  trade,  but  how  to  get  into  it. 
President  Carnot  of  the  French  Republic  was  a  busi- 
ness man  all  his  days.  "  Business  is  not  all  dollars ; 
these  are  but  the  shell,  the  kernel  lies  within,  and 
is  to  be  enjoyed  later,  as  the  higher  faculties  of  the 
business  man,  so  constantly  called  into  play,  develop 
and  mature." 


220     WJmt  Shall  Oiir  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

Krupp,  the  gun-maker,  who  rules  over  a  dominion, 
and  employs  more  men  in  his  industrial  army  than 
many  petty  German  kings  had  under  their  banners, 
refused  the  title  of  Prince  of  the  Empire,  and  pre- 
ferred to  remain  Prince  of  Steel.  There  is  plenty 
of  romance,  as  of  honors,  in  business,  if  we  have  eyes 
to  see,  while  the  noble  benefactions  of  business  men 
are  our  national  pride. 

Schopenhauer,  whose  father  w^as  a  merchant,  had  a 
special  respect  for  merchants,  because,  he  said,  they 
are  more  liberal  and  generous  than  others. 

Mr.  Carnegie  says  a  salaried  man  is  not  a  business 
man.  Many  large  corporations,  however,  are  directed 
by  salaried  men,  from  the  president  down.  The 
Pennsylvania  Eaih'oad  and  the  Equitable  Insurance 
Company  are  colossal  business  enterprises,  yet  both 
are  directed  by  salaried  officers,  who  are  responsible 
only  to  the  stockholders. 

Caleb  Garth,  in  "  Middlemarch, "  always  spoke  of 
business  with  respect.  "  It's  a  fine  thing  to  come  to 
a  man  when  he's  seen  into  the  nature  of  business :  to 
have  the  chance  of  getting  a  bit  of  the  country  into 
good  fettle,  as  they  say,  and  putting  men  into  the 
right  way  with  their  farming,  and  getting  a  bit  of 
good  contriving  and  solid  building  done,  that  those 
who  are  living  and  those  who  come  after  will  be  the 
better  for.  I'd  sooner  have  it  than  a  fortune.  I  hold 
it  the  most  honorable  work  that  is." 

And  who  can  help  being  powerfully  moved  by  the 
spectacle  of  the  world's  army  of  workers,  with  ham- 
mer, saw,  spade  or  drill ;  with  the  clank  and  clang  of 
machinery,  and  the  wonderful  mechanical  appliances 
of  the  present  period?    Lowell  spoke  of  London  as 


WTiat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      221 

"the  roaring  loom  of  time."  Walt  Whitman,  or  pos- 
sibly Kipling  alone,  could  fitly  describe  the  vastness 
and  intricacy  of  modern  material  i:)rocesses;  on  the 
farm,  in  the  mill,  at  the  forge,  the  loom,  the  lathe,  the 
press ;  amid  whirling  fly-wheels  and  shuttles ;  digging 
and  delving  in  mines ;  grinding,  refining  and  extracting 
ores  by  chemical  processes ;  driving  ships  and  steamers 
through  ice  and  fog ;  quarrying  stone,  hewing  forests, 
building  roads  and  bridges,  canals,  aqueducts;  pre- 
paring food  and  drink  for  the  millions ;  building  iron- 
clads, forts  and  lighthouses.  All  these  are  included 
in  the  word  business. 

Creating  and  producing  material  things,  making 
two  blades  of  grass  grow  where  but  one  grew  before, 
appeal  to  the  imagination  far  more  than  bartering, 
book-keeping  and  financiering.  These  latter,  not- 
withstanding, have  their  attractions.  The  methods  of 
banking,  exchange,  currency,  taxation  and  tariffs 
deeply  concern  the  whole  community,  and  should  be 
understood  by  every  business  man.  Let  no  one  fancy 
for  a  moment  that  he  can  succeed  in  business  without 
study  and  observation.  Stephen  Girard,  A.  T.  Stew- 
art, Peabody,  Wanamaker,  Carnegie,  Ai-mour  and 
Leiter  did  not  tumble  into  success  by  sheer  luck,  but 
won  their  wealth  by  close  study,  patient  reflection, 
and  hard  work. 

The  magnitude  of  the  business  of  the  metropolis 
may  be  shoAvn  by  a  few  figures.  In  the  cb'vgoods 
district  there  are  $900,000,000  worth  of  insurable 
goods,  exclusive  of  buildings,  furniture  and  fixtures. 
Wanamaker's  store  contains  a  stock  worth  $11,000,- 
000,  and  Macy's  one  of  $6,000,000.  The  goods  stored 
in  three  or  four  Imsiuess  districts  would  more  than 


222     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  fw  a  Living  ? 

pay  the  national  debt.  The  clothing  district  repre- 
sents hundreds  of  millions.  The  little  jewelry  dis- 
trict is  one  of  the  richest  areas  in  the  world.  Some 
of  the  most  precious  articles,  in  proportion  to  bulk, 
are  stored  in  drug,  chemical  and  perfumery  houses. 
The  book-publishing  district  is  stocked  with  many 
million  dollars'  worth  of  books.  Single  buildings 
with  their  contents,  and  the  land  they  occupy,  are 
worth  more  than  the  assessed  value  of  many  a  rural 
county. 

The  theory  that  trade  offers  the  largest  returns  for 
the  least  capacity  is  exploded.  Success  in  business, 
as  in  any  other  calling,  depends  on  aptitude  and 
training.  The  merchant  or  banker  must  study  as 
hard  if  not  harder  than  the  lawyer  or  doctor,  while  he 
further  labors  under  the  disadvantage  of  having  con- 
stantly to  meet  new  conditions  which  seem  to  defy 
prevision.  The  country  is  no  longer  sparsely  settled. 
Competition  cuts  abnormal  profits  out  of  new  enter- 
prises. To  be  conspicuously  successful  in  any  branch 
of  trade,  one  needs  unusual  ability,  untiring  applica- 
tion and  thorough  training. 

Mr.  Carnegie  extols  the  college  graduate.  "All 
other  things  being  equal  between  two  bright  young 
men,  one  having  a  finished  education  and  the  other 
struggling  along  without  a  scholastic  and  scientific 
training,  the  former  ought  to  outstrip  the  latter  in 
the  race."  The  danger  is,  however,  that  the  broad 
education  of  the  college  man  will  give  him  tastes 
above  business,  and  cause  business  duties  to  be  irk- 
some. On  the  other  hand,  his  less-favored  fellow, 
by  the  verj^  necessities  of  the  case,  becomes  a  busi- 
ness specialist,  and  this  is  the  age  of  successful  spe- 


WJicd  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livinrj  ?      223 

cialization.  Mr.  Carnegie's  ideal  of  a  business  man 
is  an  all-around  man,  well  grounded  in  business 
knowledge,  and  able  to  hold  a  position  in  the  best 
society.  Some  ambitious  men  fail  to  appreciate  the 
importance  of  this  last  qualification.  If  they  would 
follow  Mr.  Carnegie's  advice,  and  frankly  acknowledge 
at  the  end  of  their  college  course  that  thoy  are  be- 
ginners in  business,  they  would  overcome  this  ob- 
jection in  very  short  order. 

Harvey  E.  Fisk,  the  New  York  banker,  discussing 
the  value  of  thorough  training  to  a  business  man, 
lays  special  stress  upon  the  importance  of  the  study 
of  the  English  language  and  literature,  and  of  being 
able  to  express  one's  self  in  pure  English.  "We 
think  we  know  our  own  language  intuitivelj^,  but  only 
by  constant  practice  and  careful  study  can  ease  and 
clearness  be  acquired.  It  is  a  great  advantage  for 
any  one  to  be  able  to  draft  properly  an  agreement,  or 
write  a  good  letter,  and  these  gifts  will  aid  the  busi- 
ness no  less  than  the  professional  man.  It  is  an  ad- 
vantage for  a  clerk  to  be  able  to  explain  clearly  what 
he  knows.  Anything  that  helps  to  this  end  is  valua- 
ble. Practice  in  a  debatiug-club  may  make  a  man  a 
better  salesman." 

Bagehot  remarks  that  "  the  instinctive  habit  of  ap- 
plied calculation"  is  essential  to  a  merchant,  as  well 
as  extremely  useful  to  a  statesman. 

R.  Er.  Bowker,  in  "  Economics  for  the  People,"  tells 
how  he  learned  business  methods  in  early  life. 
"  When  I  was  a  boy  I  liked  to  l)uy  and  sell,  with 
pins  as  '  make-believe  '  money.  Then  I  began  to  col- 
lect stamps.  I  had  a  friend  whose  father  used  to 
trade  with  South  America  and  had  stacks  of  mustv 


224     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

old  letters  with  the  rare  big-number  Brazil  stamps. 
Of  course  he  wanted  only  one  of  a  kind  of  thio  col- 
lection, and  was  glad  to  trade  o&  others  for  some  of 
my  European  stamps.  I  lived  in  New  York,  and 
there  I  could  get  for  the  big  Brazils  more  stamps 
than  I  gave,  or  could  sell  them  to  the  dealers  for 
money.  Presently  I  hit  on  a  plan  the  dealers  had 
not  then  thought  of.  I  bought  small  pieces  of  Eng- 
lish and  French  gold,  and  sent  them  in  letters  to 
postmasters  in  the  colonies,  asking  them  to  send  the 
money's  worth  in  unused  small  stamps.  Some  of 
them  I  never  heard  from,  but  the  others  sent  me 
enough  to  pay  all  the  losses,  and  a  profit  beside, 
when  I  sold  my  stock  to  the  dealers.  Then  I  opened 
correspondence  with  a  Liverpool  stamp  dealer  and 
with  one  in  Hamburg,  buying  United  States  stamps 
to  send  them.  I  made  quite  a  little  money,  which  I 
found  I  could  put  in  the  savings-bank  so  as  to  get 
interest,  and  I  got  a  collection  worth  a  hundred  dol- 
lars, beside  learning  from  postage  stamps,  as  any 
thinking  boy  does,  a  good  deal  of  geography  and 
history."  Mr.  Bowker  is  now  vice-president  of  the 
Edison  Company,  where  he  has  shown  great  execu- 
tive ability. 

At  one  of  the  Twilight  Club  dinners,  a  number  of 
representative  men  told  how  they  obtained  their  first 
earnings.  One  man  sawed  wood,  another  practised 
law,  another  strung  tobacco,  others  raised  potatoes, 
acted  as  treasurer  of  a  mission  fund,  worked  in  a  but- 
ton factory,  read  to  a  blind  man,  built  school  fires, 
picked  wintergreen,  served  aboard  a  ship,  ran  er- 
rands, piled  up  cordwood.  A  Sun  reporter  questioned 
a  number  of   prominent  New  Yorkers  on  the  same 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living '/      225 

subject.  One  man  had  polished  shoes,  another  had 
peddled  newspai^ers,  a  third  had  sold  peanuts  at  a 
county  fair.  Joel  Erhardt  earned  his  first  money  by 
extra  duty  as  a  letter  carrier  on  Valentine's  Day. 
Attorney-General  Russel,  when  sixteen,  taught  school. 
Elihu  Root  picked  strawberries  in  Oneida  County  to 
get  money  to  buy  firecrackers.  Henry  Clews,  at 
fourteen,  earned  $5  a  week  as  a  clerk. 

Andrew  Carnegie,  writing  on  the  subject,  "How 
a  Young  Man  Can  Succeed,"  said:  "Begin  at  the  be- 
ginning, but  aim  high.  I  would  not  give  a  fig  for  a 
young  man  who  does  not  already  see  himself  the 
partner  or  the  head  of  some  important  firm.  Many 
business  men  of  Pittsburg,  like  myself,  began  by 
sweeping  out  the  ofiice,  including  David  McCargo, 
Superintendent  of  the  Allegheny  Valley  Railroad, 
Robert  Pitcairn,  Superintendent  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad,  and  Mr.  Moreland,  City  Attorney.  There 
are  three  dangers:  drinking,  speculation,  and  en- 
dorsing. There  is  scarcely  an  instance  of  a  man  who 
has  made  a  fortune  by  speculation  and  kept  it. 
Nothing  is  more  essential  than  untarnished  credit, 
and  nothing  kills  credit  sooner  than  the  knowledge  of 
any  bank  board  that  a  man  engages  in  speculation. 
How  can  a  man  be  credited  whose  resources  may  be 
swept  away  in  one  hour  by  a  i)anic?" 

Speculation  has  ruined  thousands.  No  matter  how 
able  the  man,  speculation  will  absorb  his  last  dollar. 
Even  Jay  Gould  made  no  money  on '  the  Street. '  The 
old  Commodore  used  to  say  to  William  H.  Vander- 
bilt,  '  Billy,  the  men  who  take  seven  per  cent  inter- 
est will  have  all  the  money  in  time.'  Dolmouico's 
profits  averaged  a  quarter  of  a  million  annualh',  yet, 
15 


''A'Iil6     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livimj  ? 

not  content  with  this,  Charles  Delmonico  dropped 
$750,000  in  Wall  Street  in  two  years. 

The  third  danger  is  endorsing  notes.  It  appeals 
to  your  generous  instincts ;  therefore,  the  practice  is 
so  dangerous.  When  a  man  in  debt  endorses 
for  another,  he  risks  the  money  of  his  own 
creditors.  Never  do  it  unless  you  have  cash  means 
beyond  your  debts,  and  never  endorse  beyond  your 
means. 

"  The  rising  man  must  do  something  exceptional, 
and  must  attract  attention.  Your  employer  must  find 
out  that  he  has  not  got  a  mere  hireling  in  his  service, 
but  a  man  who  devotes  his  spare  time  and  constant 
thought  to  the  business.  Our  young  partners  won 
their  spurs  by  showing  that  we  did  not  know  half  as 
well  what  was  wanted  as  they  did." 

"  Here  is  the  prime  condition  of  success :  concen- 
trate your  energy,  thought  and  capital  exclusively 
upon  the  business  in  which  you  are  engaged.  Hav- 
ing begun  in  one  line,  resolve  to  fight  it  out  on  that 
line,  to  lead  in  it.  Adopt  every  improvement,  have 
the  best  machinery,  and  know  the  most  about  it. 
Finally,  do  not  be  impatient,  for,  as  Emerson  saj'S, 
'  No  one  can  cheat  you  out  of  ultimate  success  but 
yourself.'" 

Mr.  Carnegie,  who  is  a  past  master  on  the  subject, 
points  out  that  it  is  fortunate  for  poor  young  men 
that  the  sons  of  rich  parents  do  not  always  inherit 
wealth-acquiring  faculties.  If  they  did,  a  few  favored 
families  would  soon  monopolize  everything.  For- 
tunes are  accumulated  and  then  are  scattered,  thus 
giving  new  men  a  chance.  Mr.  Carnegie  appreciates 
the  value  of  failure,  and  states  that   the  best  em- 


WJiut  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livimj  ?      227 

ployees  are  often  men  who  have  not  succeeded  on 
their  own  account. 

"The  successful  j'oung  man  is  usually  not  bur- 
dened with  wealth.  It  is  necessary  that  he  make  his 
own  way.  He  has  no  rich  father,  or,  still  more  dan- 
gerous, rich  mother,  who  can,  and  will,  support  him 
in  idleness  should  he  prove  a  failure.  He  has  no 
life  preserver ;  he  must  sink  or  swim.  Those  who 
fail  may  say  that  this  or  that  man  had  great  advan- 
tages, the  fates  were  propitious,  conditions  favorable. 
Now  there  is  very  little  in  this.  One  man  lands  in 
the  middle  of  a  stream  which  he  tries  to  jump,  and 
is  swept  away.  Another  tries  the  same  feat,  and 
lands  upon  the  other  side." 

Leaders  in  war,  iiolitics,  and  business  are  few.  As 
the  talent  for  leadership  is  rare,  it  is  necessarily 
valuable.  It  is  not  simi)ly  money  that  brings  suc- 
cess.    Without  ability  wealth  is  wasted. 

Men  callable  of  conducting  large  enterjjrises  prefer 
to  be  their  own  employers.  It  is  for  this,  and  not 
for  the  amount  of  work  performed,  that  great  com- 
I)anies  gladl}'  pay  princely  salaries  to  their  managers. 
The  buyer  for  a  New  York  department  store  has  a 
salary  of  816,000,  besides  an  interest  in  the  profits. 
He  has  $250,000  laid  by.  Other  men  in  the  same 
line  receive  salaries  ranging  from  eight  to  twelve 
thousand  dollars.  These  amounts  are  above  the 
average  salaries ;  but  the  best  taste  and  judgmeut  and 
business  capacity  cannot  be  purchased  for  much  less. 
The  practice  in  tlio  bigger,  newer  and  more  success- 
ful houses  is  to  allow  the  buyer  to  manage  the  busi- 
ness as  if  it  were  his  own.  Several  big  stores  have 
been  established  by  men  who  learned  the  business  m 


228     IVhat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

buyers,  and  incidentally  gained  the  confidence  of 
wholesale  merchants,  who  furnished  them  with  credit 
and  capital  to  start  for  themselves. 

Mr.  Carnegie  advises  the  beginner  to  prefer  a  busi- 
ness which  is  owned  by  its  managers  rather  than  a 
corporation,  directed  by  salaried  agents  of  a  thousand 
shifting  stockholders.  It  does  not  matter  very  much 
where  you  enter,  but  where  you  come  out.  Do  not 
be  fastidious,  take  what  the  gods  offer,  always  keep- 
ing your  eye  open  for  a  chance  to  become  interested 
in  a  business  of  your  own,  and  remember  that  every 
business  can  be  made  successful.  Capital  is  always  on 
the  lookout  for  managing  men  and  directing  minds, 
and  the  supply  is  never  superabundant.  Business 
requires  fresh  blood  for  its  existence. 

"  Prestige  is  a  great  matter.  A  young  man  who 
has  the  record  of  doing  what  he  sets  out  to  do  will 
find,  year  after  year,  his  field  of  operation  extended, 
and  the  tasks  committed  to  him  greater  and  greater. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  man  who  has  to  admit  failure, 
and  comes  to  friends  trying  to  get  assistance  in  order 
to  make  a  good  second  start,  is  in  a  very  bad  position 
indeed." 

Mr.  Carnegie  believes  in  sticking  to  one  thing. 
"  Put  your  eggs  in  one  basket  and  then  watch  the 
basket.  A  man  can  thoroughly  master  only  one  busi- 
ness, and  only  if  he  be  an  able  man  can  he  do  this. 
I  have  never  yet  met  the  man  who  fully  understood 
two  different  kinds  of  business.  You  cannot  find 
him  any  sooner  than  you  can  find  a  man  who  can 
think  in  two  languages  equally  well,  and  who  does 
not  invariably  think  only  in  one.  Subdivision,  spe- 
cialization, is  the  order  of  the  day." 


What  Shall  Our  Botjs  Do  for  a  Living  ?      229 

The  methods  of  making  money  are  simple  in  the 
abstract.  Any  one  wlio  can  produce  something  and 
can  sell  it  at  more  than  cost  will  i^rosper.  It  makes 
no  difference  whether  it  is  a  necessity  or  a  luxury, 
as  long  as  there  is  a  demand  for  it.  Food,  clothing, 
furniture,  houses,  ships,  machinery,  fuel,  jewelry, 
books,  works  of  art,  liquors  and  cigars,  if  they  can 
be  sold  at  a  profit,  will  make  their  owners  rich  in 
time.  It  is  the  same  with  skill  in  any  calling.  The 
man  who  can  perform  any  ser\ice  either  with  his 
hands  or  with  his  brain,  which  other  peojjle  will  pay 
for,  can  make  money,  provided  he  can  live  on  less  than 
he  earns.  The  first  man  in  any  calling  can  command 
his  own  price.  When  rival  firms  start,  or  when  any 
article  can  be  made  more  cheai)ly  and  thus  command 
a  wider  sale,  its  selling-price  will  go  down.  The 
maker  or  dealer  will  probably  make  as  much  money 
through  larger  sales,  at  a  lower  rate  of  profit.  Pretty 
soon  competition  will  lead  to  a  falling-oft'  in  the  arti- 
cle. The  material  will  be  adulterated,  or  the  work 
on  it  will  be  "  scamped. "  The  buyer  in  consequence  is 
swindled.  Every  salable  article  is  imitated,  and  the 
sham  may  sell  as  well,  or  better,  than  the  genuine 
product.  Wages  will  also  be  cut  down  to  reduce  the 
cost  of  production.  Furthermore,  to  promote  sales 
excessive  credit  will  be  given,  and  undue  expenses  in 
the  shape  of  rent,  advertising  and  salaries  incurred. 
Large  concerns  Avith  ample  capital  are  able  to  buy 
at  a  lower  rate  and  sell  goods  at  a  smaller  margin 
than  small  firms,  and  hence  the  latter  are  driven  to 
the  wall. 

The  fact  that  so  few  merchants  escape  bankruptc}' 
shows    the    risks    and    uncei-tainties    of     business. 


230     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

Nevertheless,  the  man  who  sticks  to  and  masters  his 
business,  does  not  expand  too  fast,  sells  to  safe  cus- 
tomers, on  a  small  margin  of  profit,  and  on  short 
credit,  is  just  as  likely  to  make  money  now  as  at  any 
time. 

The  causes  of  business  failures  are  stated  by  the 
commercial  agencies  to  be  extravagance  in  living, 
cut-throat  competition,  doing  business  on  credit  or 
with  insufficient  capital,  endorsing  other  men's  notes, 
speculation,  and  providential  disaster,  like  fires  and 
floods.  Yet  thousands  of  men  all  over  the  world  have 
earned  a  competence  by  careful  and  persistent  effort, 
and  their  example  might  be  followed  to-day  with 
good  results.  It  is  not  chance  or  luck  or  accident 
that  makes  some  succeed  where  others  fail,  but 
shrewdness,  prudence  and  making  the  best  use  of  op- 
portunities. 

"There  is  no  secret  about  it,"  said  Commodore 
Vanderbilt.  "  All  you  have  to  do  is  to  attend  to  your 
business  and  go  ahead,  and  never  tell  what  you  are 
going  to  do  until  you  have  done  it."  Asa  Packer 
told  an  acquaintance :  "  If  I  could  make  money  at 
eighteen,  carrying  vegetables  to  market  on  an  old 
scow,  I  knew  I  could  get  rich  in  after  life  if  I  only 
had  my  health."  George  Law  remarked:  "There 
is  nothing  so  easy  as  making  money  when  you  have 
money  to  make  it  with ;  the  only  thing  is  to  see  the 
crisis  and  take  it  at  its  flood."  Being  further  pressed 
to  tell  the  secret  of  his  own  success,  he  quickly  re- 
sponded: "Determination  to  work,  and  working." 
Rothschild  declared:  "Never  have  anything  to  do 
with  an  unlucky  man.  Be  cautious  and  bold.  Make 
a  bargain  at  once."     Theodore  Havemeyer  studied, 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      231 

at  first  hand,  every  process  in  the  refining  of  sugar. 
He  invented  so  many  improvements  that  he  could 
sell  sixteen  liounds  of  sugar  at  a  j)rofit  of  only  oue 
cent,  and  still  make  a  fortune.  A.  T.  Stewart  early 
laid  down  certain  rules,  which  have  since  become 
almost  universal.  First,  he  never  let  a  clerk  misrep- 
resent his  wares.  "Nothing  can  need  a  lie."  Sec- 
ond, he  stuck  to  one  price,  no  matter  \vhether  the 
goods  were  sold  or  not.  Third,  he  required  "cash 
on  delivery."  In  after  years  he  sometimes  gave 
credit. 

"  A  man  has  got  to  do  a  smashing  business  nowadays 
to  make  a  cent,"  said  an  old  banker,  "owing  to  the 
competition  in  financial,  commercial  and  manufac- 
turing circles.  In  the  old  days  the  expenses  of  doing 
business  were  a  trifle  compared  to  the  capital  now 
required,  and  the  heads  of  great  houses  did  not  have 
to  slave  like  laborers  to  retain  their  prestige.  One 
frequently  hears  remarks  about  the  easy  times  of 
great  financiers  and  other  Wall  Street  men,  but  the 
worriments,  the  hundreds  of  sources  of  trouble  and 
exasperation  in  their  daily  lives,  are  beyond  the 
knowledge  of  the  critics.  I  say  to  young  men,  work, 
but  do  not  gamble.  A  great  many  men  have  had 
millions  at  their  command.  In  every  instance  they 
were  workers,  not  gamblers.  They  made  a  place 
for  themselves.  The  Vanderbilts,  the  Garretts,  the 
Drexels,  the  Astors  have  not  been  drones.  If  some 
have  failed,  it  is  because  these  rules  of  action  have  not 
been  vigorously  followed.  Circumstances  are  not 
always  to  blame.  '  The  fault  is  not  in  our  stars,  but  in 
ourselves  that  we  are  underlings.'  "  Eugeuo  Kolloy, 
the  banker,  said :   "  The  young  men  of  to-day  should 


232     WJmt  Shall  Our  Boys  Bo  for  a  Living  ? 

copy  after  good,  moral  men,  and  follow  their  line  of 
integrity  and  unremitting  attention  to  business. 
They  must  be  honest  even  in  thought."  "All  the 
advice  in  the  world,"  said  Abram  Hewitt,  "won't 
make  a  young  man  rich.  I  tell  my  childi'en  to  tell 
the  truth  and  work.  This,  I  believe,  covers  the  situ- 
ation." Eussell  Sage  considers :  "  There  is  one  prime 
requisite — brains.  Then  a  young  man  must  be  sav- 
ing, industrious,  patient,  respectful  and  cautious. 
Above  all,  he  should  not  speculate.  The  passion  for 
speculation  ruins  ten  out  of  every  hundred  young 
men.  He  should  have  a  legitimate  business,  and 
stick  to  it,  I  have  been  frequently  asked  if  it  were 
necessary  to  go  West ;  I  always  say.  No.  Why?  Be- 
cause, if  you  want  to  make  monej^,  stay  where  there  is 
money.  The  frontier  is  not  apt  to  give  a  man  the 
opportunities  that  New  York  furnishes — I  mean  the 
sources  of  information  necessary  to  get  wealth.  Al- 
ways be  close  to  people  with  information.  Try  and 
increase  your  information  to  keep  pace  with  theirs, 
and  you  will  profit  by  the  experience.  A  good  many 
think  that  a  liquor  store  is  the  only  place  to  get 
money,  but  I  have  never  known  a  ver}^  rich  liquor 
seller.  There  are  just  as  many  opportunities  to  gain 
wealth  in  New  York  as  there  ever  were." 

On  the  other  hand,  Thomas  L.  James  urges  young 
men  to  leave  the  crowded  city  and  go  to  a  smaller 
place  to  expand.  "  The  man  who  has  the  grit  to  get 
out  of  a  big  city  has  generally  the  staying  qualities 
to  make  a  success  in  a  new  field  of  life.  Under  no 
circumstances  speculate.  As  for  gaining  money  by 
gambling  on  horse  racing,  it  is  easy  come  and  easy 
go." 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  /w  a  Living  ?      233 

Meiggs,  the  great  South  American  raih'oad  pro- 
moter, in  1848  took  a  ship-load  of  lumber  to  Cali- 
fornia and  sold  it  at  a  profit  of  $50,000.  Foreseeing 
the  growth  of  San  Francisco  and  the  need  of  lumber 
for  building  purjjoses,  he  hired  five  hundred  men  and 
sent  them  into  the  forest.  He  hauled  the  logs  to  the 
shore,  made  rafts,  and  floated  them  to  a  wharf  in  the 
city,  where  he  had  them  converted  into  lumber  at  a 
steam  sawmill.  This  foresight  and  xjluck  netted  him 
$500,000  in  gold.  Another  secret  of  his  after  success 
was  that  in  ordering  rolling  stock,  engines,  cars,  etc., 
he  always  wanted  "nothing  but  the  very  best." 

When  the  Pennsylvania  oil  supply  began  to  give 
out,  the  Standard  Oil  Company  bought  large  oil 
ti'acts  in  Ohio.  The  product  was  found  to  contain 
certain  impurities.  This  would  have  disheartened 
most  men,  but  Mr.  Rockefeller  believed  that  Provi- 
dence had  not  stored  up  a  product  fitted  for  human 
consumption  without  intending  that  it  should  be 
utilized. 

He  determined  to  adapt  the  product  to  the  market. 
He  spent  a  small  fortune  in  constructing  refineries. 
As  a  result,  before  the  works  were  finished,  his  chem- 
ist was  able  to  refine  the  oil  in  a  satisfactory  manner. 
If  the  experiment  had  failed,  Mr.  Rockefeller  would 
have  been  called  a  fool,  but  as  it  succeeded  no  one 
could  criticise  him. 

C.  P.  Huntington  ascribes  his  success  to  his  mas- 
tery of  details.  "  When  I  was  a  boy  in  a  store,  I 
learned  that  whenever  I  saw  a  one-penny  nail  on  the 
floor  it  was  my  duty  to  pick  it  up  and  not  wait  until 
I  found  a  ten-penny  nail.  The  details  of  business 
are  as  important  as  the  great  results."     Ho  tired  out 


234     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

stenographer  after  stenographer,  and  his  clerks  could 
never  keep  up  with  him.  He  was  at  his  office  at 
7 :  30,  never  leaving  before  6.  Not  a  detail  in  connec- 
tion with  his  vast  interests  escaped  his  personal  su- 
pervision. He  wasted  no  time  in  dissipation.  He 
went  to  bed  at  9 :  30,  and  slept  eight  hours.  On  the 
other  hand.  Commodore  Vanderbilt  detested  details 
and  oyAy  gave  his  mind  to  large  affairs.  When  asked 
how  he  could  conduct  his  extensive  business,  and  yet 
leave  daily  at  four  o'clock  to  drive,  he  answered :  "  It's 
easy  enough.  All  you  want  is  a  box  of  good  cigars 
and  a  check-book."  When  he  bought  a  block  of 
Harlem  stock  from  Mr.  Garrison  he  insisted  on  seeing 
the  stock  piled  in  a  small  room  in  Bowling  Green 
before  he  would  give  his  check.  I  was  told  this  story 
in  the  very  room  in  which  the  incident  occurred. 

The  records  of  the  New  York  Probate  Court  show 
that  only  one  man  in  four  on  his  death  leaves  any 
property.  The  same  condition  of  affairs  prevails 
elsewhere.  The  great  bulk  of  savings-bank  deposits 
are  held  by  the  few.  The  Massachusetts  Labor 
Bureau  found  in  ninety  savings  banks  $3,375,379  de- 
posits in  sums  under  $50,  while  $12,000,000  were  in 
sums  over  $300.  The  latter  represented  the  well- 
to-do.  This  shows  how  few  persons  save  money  for 
a  rainy  day.  It  also  makes  evident  the  importance  of 
cultivating  habits  of  thrift  in  early  life. 

A  wittj^  Englishman  remarked  in  his  wife's  hear- 
ing, "I  married  without  a  fortune."  "But,"  she  re- 
plied, " you  had  your  magnificent  intellect. "  "True, 
my  dear,  but  I  could  not  endow  you  with  that."  So 
it  is  with  all  brain-workers.  They  should  therefore 
insure  their  lives  against  the  calamities  of  life,  just 


WTiat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      235 

as  every  careful  merchant  keeps  a  reserve  fund  for 
contingencies,  in  the  shai)e  of  Government  bonds  or 
other  negotiable  securities. 

The  human  brain  is  a  most  sensitive  organ.  It 
works  best  when  free  from  worry  and  care.  The  best 
antidotes  for  brain-fag  and  anxiety  is  a  life  insurance 
policy  in  a  sound  company. 

To  get  the  full  worth  of  life  insurance,  begin  young, 
when  premiums  are  low  and  it  is  easy  to  make  pay- 
ments. Your  policy  will  all  the  sooner  become  a 
security  to  borrow  money  on  in  case  of  need.  Many 
sagacious  men  take  out  policies  on  their  sons'  lives 
before  thej'  are  of  age.  Very  often  a  little  cash  in 
hand  may  ward  off  disaster,  or  enable  a  man  to  share 
in  a  new  venture  with  great  advantages.  A  life  insur- 
ance policy  may  serve  as  security  for  raising  the 
necessary  sum,  when  no  other  assets  exist. 

Joseph  H.  Walker,  of  Worcester,  Mass.,  made  a 
careful  study  of  those  who  had  been  representative 
business  men  of  that  locality  for  half  a  century.  As 
Worcester  is  an  old  city,  in  a  long-settled  State,  the 
fluctuations  of  business  were  naturally  less  than  in 
the  new  cities  of  the  West.  Of  156  men  prominent  in 
1845,  25  went  out  of  business  within  five  years,  50  in 
ten  years,  and  67  in  fifteen  years.  Among  leading 
manufacturers  in  1840,  14  failed,  and  14  died  or  re- 
tired with  property.  Of  the  same  class  in  1845,  41 
failed,  and  30  died  or  retired  with  property.  Of  the 
same  class  in  1850,  43  failed,  and  60  died  or  retired 
with  property.  These  were  picked  men,  and  the 
showing  is  more  favorable  on  that  account. 

Of  15,508  failures  reported  in  1893,  incompetence, 
inexperience,   unwise  credits,  extravagance,   neglect, 


236      WJiat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living? 

speculation  and  fraud  caused  6,214,  or  two-fifths  of 
the  whole,  while  failures  of  others,  competition  and 
disaster  were  responsible  for  only  4,100,  the  remain- 
ing 5,194,  or  less  than  one-third,  being  due  to  lack  of 
capital.  This  total  does  not  include  100,000  concerns 
which  simply  dropped  out  of  the  race.  As  about  a 
million  firms  and  individuals  were  doing  business  in 
1893,  the  disastrous  failures  were  about  1\  per  cent, 
while  the  other  class  amounted  to  one-tenth  of  the 
whole.  At  this  rate  the  failures  from  all  causes 
would  in  about  nine  years  amount  to  90  per  cent  of 
the  whole,  which  seems  to  support  the  common  as- 
sertion that  less  than  one-tenth  of  business  men  suc- 
ceed permanently.  The  year  1891,  however,  was 
an  exceptional  one.  During  the  twelve  preceding 
years  the  business  failures  averaged  9,256,  while  96,- 
000  other  firms  went  out  of  business,  or  nearly  10 
per  cent  of  the  whole. 

The  head  of  a  large  brick-making  firm  remarks  on 
the  subject  of  business  failures,  particularly  among 
the  established  firms :  "  There  is  probably  no  field  of 
activity  wherein  people  are  so  chimerical  and  fanciful 
as  the  business  field.  The  business  world  is  simply 
teeming  with  men  who  start  out  to  attain  the  impossi- 
ble— for  them.  They  launch  their  ventures  either 
without  sufficient  capital  or  without  experience,  and 
without  any  conception  of  those  governing  principles 
which,  in  the  long  run,  control  success  or  failure  in 
trade.  Get  an  insight,  for  a  moment,  into  the  busi- 
ness of  nine  concerns  out  of  ten,  and  you  will  discover 
the  most  loose-jointed  management.  Little  is  done 
in  a  precise  way.  System  and  nicely  ordered  regula- 
tions are  entirely  absent.     The  concern  jogs  along 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  fw  a  Liviuff  ?      237 

from  day  to  day  like  a  horse-car  off  the  rails.  The 
slightest  strain  beyond  the  ordinary,  or  the  least 
unexpected  mishap,  is  enough  to  bring  everything  to 
a  standstill.  Those  old  concerns  that,  to  everybody's 
surprise,  go  under,  fail  chiefly  because  they  have  lost 
the  power  to  adapt  themselves  readily  to  new  condi- 
tions. The}'  get  in  a  rut.  Every  ten  years  now  pro- 
duce a  revolution  in  trade.  In  my  business,  the  bulk 
of  sales  to-day  are  of  articles  which  ten  years  ago 
were  either  unknown,  or  were  goods  with  a  doubtful 
future  before  them.  If  we  had  stuck  doggedly  or 
bliudl}'  to  the  old  lines,  any  one  of  our  wide-awake 
competitors  would  have  crept  ahead  of  us.  The 
novelty  of  yesterday  becomes  the  staple  of  to-day, 
and  the  staple  of  yesterday-  a  drug  on  the  market. 
One  must  be  watchful,  abreast  of  the  times,  ready  to 
recognize  speedily  new  instrumentalities  of  value,  and 
adopt  them.  To  use  the  boat-builder's  phrase,  one 
must  not  be  'outbuilt.'  " 

The  Metal  Worker  cites  the  opinion  of  manufac- 
turers about  the  difficult}'  of  getting  competent  and 
conscientious  subordinates.  One  employer  said: 
"  They  will  ask  permission  to  go  to  a  ball-game  or  a 
boat-race,  without  considering  whether  our  interests 
should  not  be  i^aramount  to  their  pleasure.  In  our 
entire  establishment  I  do  not  know  of  one  man  who 
is  eligible  for  promotion  in  case  of  the  death  or  retire- 
ment of  one  of  tjie  firm."  Another  employer  re- 
marks :  "  I  have  an  average  lot  of  clerks  and  sales- 
men, but  their  chances  of  succoodiug  the  present 
heads  of  the  business  are  mighty  small.  Any  one  of 
them  could  secure  a  place  in  the  firm  in  five  years, 
without  capital,  if  he  wore   disposed  to   work  for 


238     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

it.  It  is  surprising  how  few  young  men  look  ahead 
and  see  the  chance  of  promotion,  if  they  will  only 
earn  it," 

Here  is  an  incident  which  illustrates  individual 
peculiarities.  A  young  man  who  applied  for  a  clerk- 
ship was  told  to  give  a  sample  of  his  handwriting. 
He  at  first  objected  to  the  penholder,  and  took  one 
of  peculiar  form  out  of  his  pocket.  He  then  said  he 
was  not  accustomed  to  write  at  a  high  desk.  When 
asked  to  add  several  columns  of  figures  he  got  rattled 
because  the  employer  timed  him  while  doing  it.  He 
consequently  failed  to  get  the  place.  It  was  given  to 
another  applicant,  who  made  no  objections  to  the 
examination,  but  went  through  it  calmly  and  quietly. 
When  asked  the  name  of  his  former  emplo3'er,  he  an- 
swered that  he  came  from  a  farm  and  had  attended  a 
business  college,  where  daily  practice  was  given  in 
concentration  of  thought.  He  added,  "I  believe  I 
could  write  on  the  side  of  a  haystack  and  figure  at 
an  auction." 

The  following  observations  on  "How  to  Fail  in 
Business"  were  written  for  The  Outlook,  by  William 
Whiting,  the  New  England  paper  manufacturer. 
They  are  so  valuable  that  I  copy  them  in  full: 
"  When  I  was  a  boy  I  used  to  think  that  the  store- 
keepers were  about  the  most  comfortably  fixed  of  any 
class  in  the  community.  I  always  saw  them  taking 
in  money,  and  I  wondered  what  they  did  with  it  all. 
What  I  did  not  see  or  think  of  was  the  bills  they  had 
to  pay,  and  their  losses  and  expenses.  My  views  as 
a  boy  illustrate  very  well  the  way  that  every  man 
who  is  an  outsider  looks  at  the  business  of  another. 
Almost  invariably  he  sees  the  pleasant  side,  and  that 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      239 

may  be  no  more  than  a  shell  of  prosperous  appear- 
ances. Only  the  man  inside  knows  the  weak  points 
of  his  business,  and  the  best  business  has  weak 
points.  It  does  a  firm  no  good  to  have  these  adver- 
tised, and  the  men  inside  simply  guard  them  and 
keep  silent.    • 

"Whether  you  buy  out  a  business  or  start  anew, 
you  wiU  find  the  greatest  difficulty  in  fairly  realizing 
the  dangers  and  contingencies  of  it  beforehand.  In 
ninety-nine  cases  out  of  one  hundred  you  will  find 
you  have  under-estimated  expenses.  It  is  easy  to 
figure  out  a  profit  as  an  outsider.  It  is  difficult  to 
realize  that  profit  as  an  insider. 

"  A  danger  that  the  j'ounger  men,  and  those  who 
take  up  a  new  business,  are  apt  to  encounter,  lies  in 
their  eagerness  to  branch  out,  to  make  improvements, 
and  to  abandon  the  moss-grown  methods  of  their  pre- 
decessors. This  all  sounds  very  well,  but  in  practice 
it  too  often  results  in  disaster.  As  an  instance,  there 
are  the  Baring  Brothers,  an  old  house  of  conserva- 
tive spirit  and  the  greatest  supposed  stabilit3^  Their 
failure  was  the  result  of  the  enterprise  of  new  mem- 
bers of  the  firm,  who  found  the  old  ways  too  slow  and 
narrow.  The  only  safe  course  in  business  is  to  hang 
on  to  sure  things,  to  make  changes  gradually,  and 
only  after  the  most  careful  consideration. 

"  The  tendency  in  our  country  is  to  extend  one's 
business  too  rapidly,  to  depend  too  much  ou  futures, 
to  spread  out  too  thin  the  capital  that  is  absolutely 
one's  own.  We  attempt  rather  more  than  wo  can 
handle  comfortably.  It  is  wise  to  undertake  ouly 
what  we  can  do  well.  The  English  understand  this 
point  better  thfin  we  do.     Their  business  talent,  as  a 


240     WJiat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

nation,  is  remarkable.  WTien  they  get  a  grip  on  a 
good  thing,  they  hang  on  to  it  steadfastly,  year  in  and 
year  out. 

"  It  is  astonishing  how  seductive  business  is.  All 
classes,  experienced  and  inexperienced,  will  under- 
take hopefully  the  most  doubtful  ventures.  I  know 
a  laboring  man  who,  within  six  months  of  the  time  he 
came  to  this  country  as  an  emigrant,  raised  seven 
hundred  dollars  among  his  friends,  and  started  a 
grocery  store.  He  had  not  an  atom  of  experience, 
but  things  looked  promising  until  the  expenses  began 
to  roll  up  and  his  money  was  spent.  Then  he  got 
cramped,  he  could  not  keep  a  good  stock,  customers 
left  him,  and  he  lost  all  he  had.  At  the  other  ex- 
treme, I  know  of  an  elderly  man  who,  at  the  age  of 
seventy,  went  into  a  new  business  and  invested  his 
entire  fortune  of  three-quarters  of  a  million  dollars. 
He  had  competitors  who  had  such  natural  advantages 
over  him  in  the  placing  of  their  [plants  that  he  was 
ruined.  There  is  no  end  of  people,  both  rich  and 
poor,  who  make  these  sanguine  failures  every  year. 
We  too  readily  attempt  the  management  of  a  business 
that  is  new  to  us,  and  we  too  readily  invest  the 
profits  of  our  own  business  in  enterprises  of  which 
we  have  no  personal  knowledge.  The  man  does  best 
in  the  long  run  who  sticks  to  his  own  business,  is 
chary  of  outside  responsibilities  and  schemes,  and 
invests  his  surplus  that  must  go  outside  safely  at  six 
per  cent. 

"  A  good  deal  of  trouble  could  be  avoided  if  men 
realized  that  business  runs  in  cycles.  For  instance, 
I  look  upon  the  next  ten  years  in  this  way.  Almost 
all    manufacturing    has    been    stimulated    to    over- 


What  Shall  Our  Boijs  Do  fw  a  Living  ?      241 

production.  If  all  the  mills  ran  full  time,  they  would 
produce  a  considerable  per  cent  more  than  could  be 
consumed.  Therefore,  in  the  next  three  years  excess 
of  competition  and  short  product  will  make  profits 
light.  By  that  time  the  natural  increase  of  demand, 
coupled  with  the  fact  that  capital  has  been  deterred 
by  small  returns  from  investing  in  new  mills,  will 
make  profits  fairly  good.  Finally,  in  the  last  three 
or  four  years  of  the  decade  profits  will  be  high. 
Then  will  come  a  rush  of  new  mills,  over-production, 
and  stagnation  again. 

"The  mills  built  at  the  end  of  the  high-profit 
period  are  the  ones  that  have  the  hardest  time.  The 
cost  of  the  plant,  and  the  expenses  of  starting  and 
making  a  place  in  the  market  for  goods  there  is  no 
call  for,  bring  failure  to  some,  and  to  others  a  harass- 
ing and  lifelong  burden  of  debt. 

"It  is  dangerous  for  even  a  well-established  con- 
cern to  calculate  that  the  high-profit  period  will  be 
continuous.  The  tendency  is  to  reinvest  all  surplus 
and  not  carry  enough  reserve,  and  there  comes  a 
pinch  in  the  light  years,  or  when  some  heavy  and 
unforeseen  expenditure  becomes  necessary. 

"  Besides  all  this  there  is  the  wear  and  tear  on  ma- 
chinery, and  its  liability  to  be  superseded  by  that 
which  is  better.  The  novice  who  is  about  to  invest 
in  a  mill  rarely  thinks  of  this  item,  yet  it  amounts  to 
five  or  ten  per  cent  of  the  original  cost  of  the  ma- 
chinery yearly.  Many  firms  have  failed  because  they 
did  not  give  proper  attention  to  this  point.  It  is 
only  a  question  of  time  when  out-of-date  machinery 
alone  will  swamp  a  concern. 

"In  starting  in  a  business,  there  is  nothing  like 
16 


242     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

entering  on  one  that  is  old  and  well  established,  if 
you  can  get  it  at  the  right  price.  If  it  is  successful 
and  profitable,  it  is  a  good  investment  even  at  a  hand- 
some bonus.  At  the  same  time,  if  you  have  not  had 
wide  business  experience  and  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  particular  field  you  propose  entering,  the 
chances  are  you  will  take  too  rosy  a  view  of  it. 

"Trading,  to  a  disinterested  outsider,  must  often 
have  almost  the  appearance  of  robbery.  The  buyer 
cares  little  for  'inventory'  prices  and  'fair  estimates.' 
He  will  often  put  in  the  knife,  and  scale  these  down 
a  third  or  a  half,  and  refuse  to  talk  except  on  that 
basis.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  seller  has  the  ad- 
vantage, he  will  squeeze  the  buyer  to  the  same  ex- 
tent. In  our  present  hard  times  it  is  the  buyer  who 
crowds  down  prices,  and,  with  the  risk  he  takes, 
there  is  need  for  his  severity.  The  man  who  is  not 
a  sharp  buyer  courts  failure. 

"  The  younger  business  men  frequently  find  a  pit- 
fall in  business  speculation ;  that  is,  they  do  not  study 
to  supply  the  natural  demand  simply,  but  to  find 
large  profits  in  chance  changes  of  prices.  Yet  I 
never  knew  any  one  smart  enough  always  to  buy  low 
and  sell  high,  to  carry  a  large  stock  over  to  a  high- 
priced  period,  and  a  small  stock  over  to  a  low-priced 
period.  If  they  make  once  they  lose  twice,  and  the 
older  men  avoid  engaging  in  such  transactions.  In 
panics  or  booms  it  does  not  pay  to  get  either  scared 
or  excited. 

"The  young  business  man  is  also  too  easily  in- 
duced to  put  his  name  on  notes  and  bonds,  to  accom- 
modate his  friends.  He  can  best  assure  his  success  by 
not  obligating  himself  at  all.    As  for  his  friends,  they 


WJiat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  «  Llviufj  /      248 

will,  in  majority  of  cases,  be  better  off  if  they  find  it 
difficult  to  borrow.  It  is  unfortunate  for  a  man  to  be 
able  to  borrow  money  too  easil}'.  He  does  not  feel 
the  responsibility  lie  should,  and  it  slips  through  his 
fingers.  He  not  only  cripples  himself,  but  the  weaker 
of  those  who  lent  him  their  name. 

"  Beside  the  dangers  mentioned  that  are  not  apt  to 
be  foreseen  and  discounted  by  the  man  going  into 
business,  are  losses  by  bad  bills,  by  fii-e  or  accident, 
by  dishonest  help,  by  sickness,  and  by  personal  ex- 
travagance. There  will  be  some  bad  bills  anyway, 
and  there  should  always  bo  some  reserve  to  meet  the 
possibilit}'  of  these,  and  of  fire  and  accident.  As  for 
dishonesty,  there  are  a  thousand  ways  in  which  it 
can  creep  in.  Safety  can  come  only  in  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  business  from  top  to  bottom,  and  a 
personal  overseeing  and  testing.  It  is  essential,  too, 
that  the  books  be  examined  occasionally.  This  ex- 
amination does  not  mean  suspicion  of  the  help,  but 
is  made  on  the  general  principle  that  supposed  trust- 
worthiness has  in  the  past  failed,  and  lightning  strikes 
in  unexpected  places. 

"  Sickness  is  more  serious  in  a  small  business  than 
in  a  large  one.  A  well-organized  mauufacturiug  con- 
cern will  move  along  smoothly  of  its  own  weight  for 
any  moderate  length  of  time. 

"  In  the  matter  of  personal  expenses,  the  American 
tendency  is  to  increase  them  fully  as  fast  as  the  busi- 
ness will  warrant.  Yet  the  men  who  are  working  up 
to  the  largest  success  live  more  ([uietly  than  their 
neighbors  who  are  at  present  equally  iirosperous.  A 
fine  house  and  fine  living,  and  a  place  in  the  upper 
circle  of  fashionable  society,  are  questionable  things 


244     py/iat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

for  the  young  business  man  to  aspire  to.  In  reality, 
a  man's  success  depends  largely  on  his  wife.  If  she 
is  ambitious  and  showy  in  her  tastes,  she  will  use 
both  her  husband's  time  and  money  with  dangerous 
freedom.  If  the  wife  is  economical,  and  counts  the 
cost  in  her  plans  and  expenditures,  she  is  a  great 
help. 

"  In  the  use  of  his  free  time  after  business  hours, 
I  suppose  that  what  is  best  is  not  half  the  night  spent 
at  the  club,  or  in  society,  but  a  quiet  evening  spent 
at  home,  and  an  early  hour  for  retiring ;  at  least,  that 
method  is  best,  as  a  rule.  It  is  said  that  Armour,  the 
wealthy  Chicago  business  man,  retires  invariably  at 
nine  o'clock.  No  matter  what  the  circumstances  are, 
even  if  company  is  present,  at  that  hour  he  begs  to 
be  excused  and  leaves  the  room.  It  is  of  great  ad- 
vantage for  a  man  to  get  up  with  a  clear  head.  He 
needs  to  feel  well  to  do  his  best  in  business,  just  as 
in  anything  else. 

"  As  to  whether  culture  has  a  pecuniary  value  to  a 
business  man,  I  should  say.  Yes.  Reading  and  wide 
knowledge  mellow  a  man's  opinion,  and  he  can  treat 
questions  that  come  up  more  broadlj^  than  otherwise. 
He  will  look  at  a  proposition  more  fairly  and  thor- 
oughly. 

"  The  sum  of  the  matter  is  that  a  man  had  far  bet- 
ter make  less  money  than  to  take  too  large  risks,  even 
in  his  own  business ;  and  outside  ventures  should  be 
regarded  doubtfully,  always.  For  there  is  no  worry 
that  will  kill  a  man  quicker  than  business  worry,  and 
many  die  of  this  who  have  a  very  different  disease 
set  against  their  names  in  the  news  items  of  the 
papers.     It  is  easy  enough  to  realize  the  true  value 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      245 

of  these  things  we  have  been  talking  over  now.  The 
time  to  think  of  them,  however,  is  in  the  good  years, 
when  everything  booms  with  the  promise  of  large 
gains." 

Professional  men  often  assert  that  if  they  had  de- 
voted the  same  time  and  energy  to  business  which 
they  have  given  to  their  profession  they  would  have 
been  better  off  i)ecuniarily.  They  forget  that  special 
cajjacity  is  needed  to  succeed  in  any  occupation  and 
that  they  may  lack  business  faculty.  Furthermore, 
they  compare  themselves  only  with  the  merchants 
and  manufacturers  who  have  made  money,  and  for- 
get the  hundi'eds  of  thousands  who  never  rise  above 
subordinate  positions,  and  the  legion  who  have  failed 
in  business. 

The  great  army  of  clerks,  salesmen,  book-keepers 
and  accountants  receive  small  pay,  and  have  little 
chance  of  advancement.  The  professional  man,  if  he 
is  shrewd  and  energetic,  continually  finds  opportu- 
nities for  bettering  himself.  At  the  same  time  he  is 
not  tied  down  to  a  desk  or  forced  to  work  in  a  rut,  like 
many  employees.  Again,  the  professional  man  gains 
valuable  experience,  which  broadens  the  mind  and 
fits  him  for  new  opportunities,  while  the  clerk  too 
often  becomes  a  mere  machine. 

After  the  panic  of  1893,  in  one  week,  seven  old  New 
York  firms,  some  of  them  of  sixty  years'  standing, 
went  into  liquidation.  Dry  rot  assails  business  con- 
cerns as  it  does  old  hulks,  and  new  methods  and  fresh 
energy  are  needed  to  meet  new  conditions. 

A  profession  may  not  be  so  profitable  as  some 
forms  of  business,  but  it  involves  less  risk.  The 
professional  man  may  not  make  a  fortime,  but  on  the 


240      JVJiat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

other  hand  he  cannot  lose  one,  except  by  speculation. 
If  he  shows  ordinary  capacity  and  industry,  he  at 
least  gains  independence,  a  good  social  i)osition  and 
a  comfortable  living.  An  income  of  $3,000,  which  is 
a  fair  average  for  a  professional  man,  is  equivalent  to 
three  per  cent  on  $100,000.  Such  a  capital  in  busi- 
ness should  bring  in  a  larger  return,  yet  it  often  does 
not,  and  it  may  be  swept  away  by  a  turn  of  the  mar- 
ket, and  leave  its  possessor  bankrupt.  Again,  few 
men  get  rich  from  legitimate  business,  but  many  do 
from  real  estate  investments,  which  professional  men 
with  equal  shrewdness  and  prudence  can  make. 

The  merchant's  stock  of  goods  may  deteriorate,  the 
manufacturer's  machinery  wears  out  and  needs  re- 
I)lacing,  profits  will  be  cut  down  by  competition  and 
bad  debts,  and  in  other  ways  the  business  man's  en- 
tire capital  may  be  depleted.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
professional  man's  skill,  which  is  his  chief  capital, 
should  increase  with  growing  experience. 

No  one  should  enter  a  profession  hoping  to  lead  an 
easy  life.  The  lawyer,  doctor,  clergyman,  engineer 
or  architect  must  work  as  hard  as  the  merchant  or 
manufacturer,  and  may  have  to  wait  years  before 
he  can  earn  more  than  his  expenses.  The  lower 
ranks  of  all  professions  are  overcrowded.  To  gain 
first  place  one  must  "toil  terribly."  Again,  no  one 
should  select  a  profession  unless  he  has  a  liking  for 
it.  You  must  love  your  work  if  you  expect  to  suc- 
ceed in  it.  It  is  arrant  folly  to  make  a  boy  stud}^ 
medicine  or  law  who  has  no  taste  for  books  or  love  of 
learning.  Neither  should  a  youth  enter  a  profession 
solely  to  make  money.  He  must  appreciate  profes- 
sional honor  and  love  his  work  independently  of  its 


What  Shall  Our  Boyi^  Do  for  a  Living  ?     247 

pecuniary  rewards,  or  lie  will  b<'  only  a  time-server 
and  bread-winner. 

Andrew  Carnegie  ranks  a  i^rofession  above  a  busi- 
ness career,  because  money-making  is  not  the  sole 
object  in  the  former.  He  considers,  however,  that 
greater  breadth  of  mind  is  produced  by  business  ex- 
perience than  by  professional  practice.  The  latter 
he  thinks,  strengthens  but  contracts  the  mind.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  great  merchant  or  manufacturer 
must  have  a  broad  and  liberal  mind.  He  must  be  a 
judge  of  men,  have  the  gift  of  organization,  under- 
stand economical  laws  and  have  executive  ability. 
He  must  know  other  coimtries  as  well  as  his  own. 
"Nothing,"  says  Mr.  Carnegie,  "of  moment  can  hap- 
pen which  has  not  its  bearing  upon  his  action ;  polit- 
ical complications  at  Constantinople ;  the  appearance 
of  the  cholera  in  the  East;  a  mousoon  in  India;  the 
sui)ply  of  gold  at  Cripple  Crook ;  the  appearance  of 
the  Colorado  beetle ;  the  fall  of  a  ministry ;  the  dan- 
ger of  war,  or  the  likelihood  of  arbitration  compelling 
settlement — nothing  can  happen  in  any  part  of  the 
world  which  he  has  not  to  consider."  In  reply  to 
this  it  is  sufficient  to  mention  the  public  sei-vice  per- 
formed by  professional  men  in  sliaping  legislation, 
even  in  dealing  with  purely  commercial  <iuestious  like 
the  tariff  or  cuiToucy.  Mr.  Carnegie  is  a  type  of 
broad-minded,  liberal  and  cultured  men,  but  ho  is 
one  in  a  hundred.  Most  merchants,  manufacturers 
and  even  bankers  take  a  narrow  view  of  events  in 
which  their  individual  interests  are  not  at  stake. 

Keference  has  been  made  in  i)rovi()us  chai)tor8  to 
the  demand  for  cajiablo  men  to  fill  oxecutive  ])oai- 
tious,  and  the  advantages  of  business  capacity  U)  a 


248     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  /o?*  a  Liviyig  ? 

professional  man.  This  is  illustrated  by  the  follow- 
ing partial  record  of  the  graduates  of  three  leading 
American  engineering  schools.  Of  1,070  graduates 
from  the  Eensselaer  Polytechnic  Institute  (Troy), 
33  are  presidents  of  corporations,  121  vice-presidents, 
managers  and  superintendents,  69  practising  engi- 
neers, 56  professors  in  colleges.  Of  551  graduates  of 
Stevens  Institute,  209  are  managers  and  superinten- 
dents, 54  consulting  engineers,  30  professors  in  col- 
leges, and  16  heads  of  corporations.  At  Cornell  the 
386  graduates  of  the  course  in  engineering  supplied 
16  heads  of  comj^anies,  165  engineers  in  full  charge 
or  assistants  in  public  or  private  work,  66  practising 
engineers,  and  22  college  professors.  It  thus  appears 
that  of  2,007  graduates  189  have  become  practising 
engineers,  108  college  professors,  while  560,  or  over 
one-fourth,  are  managing  manufacturing' enterprises. 
This  is  a  very  interesting  demonstration  of  the  fact 
that  scientifically  trained  men  can  develop  business 
capacity. 


CHAPTER   XXm. 

NEW  OPPORTUNITIES. 

Variety  of  Occupations  Available — Hawthorne  on  Choosing  a 
Profession — Supply  Sometbiug  that  People  Want — Practical 
Advice — Seek  New  Paths — ^Marvellous  Material  Development 
of  the  Nation — The  Producing  Field — Changes  in  Occupations 
— Census  Statistics — Veterinary  Science — Electrical  Engineer- 
ing —  Telegraphy  —  Alining  —  Real  Estate— Architecture — For- 
estry— Farming — Chemistry — Dentistry —  Pharmacy —  Teaching 
— Life  Insurance — Railway  Contracting. 

Bacon  advised  parents  to  choose  their  children's 
vocation  "betimes,"  when  the  chiklren  are  most 
"flexible,"  and  not  to  lay  too  much  stress  ui)on  their 
apparent  disposition,  unless  the  child  has  some  ex- 
traordinary inclination  or  aptitude.  In  that  ease,  it 
is  not  good  to  cross  it.  It  is  generally  wise  to  follow 
the  Latin  precept :  "  Select  that  course  of  life  which 
is  most  advantageous.  Habit  will  soon  render  it 
pleasant  and  easily  endured." 

A  superintendent  of  a  French  school  reports  that 
of  100  pupils  0  intended  to  follow  professions,  23 
preferred  business,  14  wanted  public  positions  and  57 
meant  to  learn  a  trade.  The  preference  of  American 
boys  is  very  different.  Two-thirds  of  the  jiupils  in 
the  New  York  schools  take  to  business.  Tlio  jirofos- 
sious  attract  a  number,  while  the  trades  find  but  little 
favor  in  the  eyes  of  either  boys  or  thoir  paronts. 

The  variety  of  occupations  oiicn  to  young  men  of 


250     What  Shall  Oiir  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

the  present  day  is  shown  by  the  statistics  of  408 
members  of  the  Harvard  class  of  1898,  of  whom  100  in- 
tended to  study  law,  29  to  study  medicine,  45  to  teach, 
14  to  become  manufacturers,  12  to  prepare  for  the 
ministry,  and  12  to  enter  journalism.  Later  6  be- 
came insurance  and  real  estate  agents,  7  chemists, 

3  brokers,  2  salesmen,  7  merchants,  4  railroad  men, 

4  publishers,  13  engineers,  6  bankers,  2  landscape 
architects,  and  2  contractors.  Sixteen  men  continued 
their  studies  in  the  graduate  courses,  or  abroad,  and 
18  chose  some  form  of  business.  Among  the  remain- 
ing members  there  were  a  biologist,  a  superintendent 
of  schools,  a  commission  merchant,  2  draughtsmen,  3 
writers,  a  coffee  cultivator,  an  iron  founder,  a  musi- 
cian, a  geologist,  an  entomologist,  a  mining  expert,  a 
forester,  a  gas  engineer,  3  soldiers,  a  dentist,  a  whole- 
sale grocer,  a  dealer  in  live-stock,  an  actor,  an  artist, 
and  a  missionary.  At  Yale,  out  of  a  class  of  300, 
79  chose  law,  22  medicine,  18  teaching,  and  9  the 
ministry. 

Most  students  do  not  decide  what  calling  they  will 
select  until  after  entering  college.  This  is  advisable. 
It  is  better  to  feel  one's  way,  consult  with  one's  teach- 
ers, and  compare  notes  with  classmates  before  making 
a  final  choice.  The  first  two  college  years  are  devoted 
to  general  studies,  which  give  breadth  and  strength. 
If  the  student  then  decides  on  his  future  occupation, 
he  can  shape  later  studies  in  any  special  direction. 

Hawthorne,  when  seventeen,  wrote  to  his  mother: 
"  I  have  not  yet  concluded  what  profession  I  shall  se- 
lect. Being  a  minister  is,  of  course,  out  of  the  ques- 
tion. I  should  not  think  that  even  you  could  desire 
me  to  choose  so  dull  a  way  of  life.     Oh,  no,  mother ! 


What  Shall  Oitr  Boijs  Do  Jor  a  Livwrj  ?      251 

I  was  not  bom  to  vegetate  forever  in  one  i)lace,  and  to 
live  and  die  as  calm  and  tranquil  as  a  puddle  of  water. 
As  to  lawj-ers,  there  are  so  many  of  tliom  already  that 
one-lialf  of  them  (upon  a  moderate  calculation)  are  in 
a  state  of  actual  starvation.  A  physician,  then,  seems 
to  be  'Hobson's  choice,'  but  yet  I  should  not  like  to 
live  by  the  diseases  and  infirmities  of  my  fellow-crea- 
tures. Oh,  that  I  was  rich  enough  to  live  without  a 
profession !  What  do  j'ou  think  of  my  becoming  an 
author,  and  relying  for  support  upon  my  pen?  In- 
deed, I  think  the  illigibility  of  my  handwriting  is 
very  author-like.  How  proud  you  would  feel  to  see 
my  works  praised  by  the  reviewers  as  equal  to  the 
proudest  i)roductions  of  the  scribbling  sons  of  John 
Bull!" 

In  watching  the  throngs  of  young  and  old  in  the 
streets,  or  crowding  the  trains  and  ferryboats,  on 
their  way  to  work,  I  constantly'  ask  mj'self :  "  How  is 
it  that  these  men  can  wear  good  clothes  and  live  in 
comfortable  homes?  Is  there  any  mystery  about  it? 
Is  it  luck  or  chance?"  The  simi)le  answer  is  that 
the  vast  majority  of  the  world's  workers,  leaving  out 
of  consideration  the  few  drones  in  the  hive  of  indus- 
try, gain  food  and  clothing  and  shelter  hy  earning 
them.  Look  at  the  shops  liuing  every  street.  Is 
there  any  question  how  their  owners  di'aw  customers? 
They  do  it  by  having  something  to  sell  that  the  public 
want,  and  presenting  it  properly  to  their  attention. 
The  same  impression  is  made  by  studying  the  news- 
paper bulletins  and  bookstands,  the  theatre-posters, 
the  doctors'  and  dentists'  signs,  the  huge  hotels  and 
churches,  which  all  teach  the  same  lessou,  namely, 
that  to  earn  a  living  from  the  public  you  need  to  have 


252      What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

something  to  give  in  exchange — food,  clothes,  luxu- 
ries, knowledge,  news,  entertainments,  shoes  or  ser- 
mons, jewels  or  gingerbread,  potatoes  or  jjianos, 
professional  advice,  or  instruction  in  the  arts.  On 
Broadway,  as  on  the  Bowery,  enterprise,  taste  and 
skill  in  catering  to  the  public  bring  their  sure  re- 
turns. The  bootblack  or  the  fruit-peddler  succeeds 
in  the  same  way  that  the  merchant  or  banker  does : 
by  sticking  to  his  business,  making  friends  of  his 
customers,  spending  less  than  he  earns,  and  supply- 
ing what  the  public  wants. 

Let  every  young  man,  therefore,  dismiss  from  his 
mind  all  thought  of  getting  on  in  life  by  any  new  or 
original  methods,  but  decide  that  the  beaten  path 
which  millions  have  trodden  before  him  is  the  surest 
way  to  prosperity  and  reputation. 

Ever}^  past  age  seems  the  golden  age.  It  would  be 
laughable,  were  it  not  so  natural,  to  hear  each  genera- 
tion bewail  the  departing  "  great  lights"  in  each  pro- 
fession, and  ask  in  dismay :  "  Where  are  their  suc- 
cessors to  come  from?"  But  as  Scott  and  his 
generation  gave  place  to  Thackeray,  Dickens,  Carlyle 
and  Tennyson,  so  a  new  crop  of  geniuses  comes,  and 
Stevenson,  Barrie,  Cable,  Howells  and  Henry  James 
fill  the  public  eye.  It  is  the  same  in  every  occupa- 
tion. When  people  say  there  is  no  opportunity  for 
new  men,  I  point  to  TJie  Ceyitury,  rivalling  Harper's 
Monthly,  and  the  rise  in  turn  of  Scribner's,  The  Cos- 
mo^iolitan,  Ilunsey's,  and  31cClure's  magazines.  As 
the  New  YorTc  Times  grew  beside  the  Tribune,  and 
was  followed  by  Mr.  Dana's  Sun,  so  The  World  forced 
its  way  to  the  front.  Later  the  Morning  Journal  and 
TJie  Press  were  established.     Fuck  and  Life  have  ere- 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Bo  J(yr  a  Livinrj?      253 

ated  fields  for  themselves,  yet  there  is  still  room  for 
others. 

Erastus  Wyman  remarked  upon  the  large  sums  of 
money  which  are  handled  in  small  amounts.  The 
four  and  a  half  billion  cigars  yearly  smoked  in  the 
United  States  represent,  perhaps,  a  thousand  million 
sales  of  a  few  cents  each.  The  penny  weighing- 
machine  has  a  clientele  of  seventeen  million  people 
annuall}'.  The  automatic  machines,  which  disburse 
chewing-gum,  postage-stamps  and  a  dozen  other 
trifles  continually  gather  their  harvests  of  cents  and 
nickels.  The  newsdealer,  Ijootblack,  car  conductor, 
ferryman,  dairy-lunch  keeper,  soda-water  dealer,  toy 
and  candy  seller,  fruit-vender,  and  the  small  shop- 
keeper handle  man}-  millions  of  pennies  and  nickels 
in  their  daih'  transactions,  with  profits  which  in  the 
aggregate  amount  to  a  large  sum.  There  are  innu- 
merable opportunities  of  which  a  man  with  brains 
and  push  can  take  advantage  to  build  up  a  little  busi- 
ness of  this  kind,  if  he  oul^^  keeps  his  eyes  open. 

Most  men  dwell  on  the  drawbacks  rather  than  on 
the  advantages  of  their  o\vn  special  pursuit.  This 
only  proves  that  every  calling  has  its  undesirable 
features.  There  is  no  easy  road  to  fortune.  Every 
beginner  should  select  the  occupation  for  which  ho 
has  an  inclination  or  is  best  adapted,  and  then  stick 
to  it. 

Goethe  remarked  that  wisdom  does  not  necessarily 
come  with  age,  and  that  in  certain  matters  a  man  may 
be  as  likely  to  perceive  rightly  at  twenty  as  at  sixty. 
In  this  ago  young  blood  has  an  advantage.  A  prefer- 
ence is  given  to  youth  and  freshness  in  every  calling. 
The  crowds  one  meets  earlv  and  late  in  the  cars,  on 


254     WJiat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

the  ferryboats  and  streets  of  every  large  city  are 
mostly  under  thirty.  Everj^  year  a  certain  number 
of  positions  are  made  vacant  by  death,  removal  or 
other  causes.  The  doors  of  opportunity  are  always 
opening  for  the  wide-awake  man. 

Fifty  years  ago  a  medical  man  began  to  practise 
before  he  was  twenty.  The  course  of  study  now 
occupies  four  years,  in  addition  to  four  jears  of  prep- 
aration. The  best  men  take  a  year  in  the  hospitals 
after  graduating.  The  first  two  or  three  years  of 
practice  are  usually  years  of  waiting.  The  doctor  is 
more  than  thirty  before  he  gets  fairly  to  work.  The 
same  difficulty  is  found  in  other  professions.  Joseph 
H.  Choate  said,  at  a  Harvard  dinner:  "One  of  the 
problems  we  are  considering  is,  How  we  can  bring  our 
boys  earlier  into  the  real  business  of  life?  A  young 
man  now  entering  a  profession  begins  when  he  is 
twenty-seven  or  twenty-eight,  and  if  by  thirty  he  is 
able  to  support  a  wife,  he  has  succeeded  marvellously. 
I  hope  something  can  be  done.  But  don't  break  up 
the  classes.  Squeeze  it  out  of  the  preparatory 
schools.      Vacations  are  too  long." 

The  main  thing  is  to  get  something  to  do,  it  makes 
no  difference  what,  and  then  work  and  wait  till  some- 
thing better  offers.  A  New  York  Charity  Superin- 
tendent saj's :  "  Half  of  the  applicants  for  relief  need 
only  to  get  a  start  to  become  self-supporting.  The 
misfortune  of  many  persons  is  that  they  do  not  know 
how  or  where  to  begin." 

Here  are  two  characteristic  opinions  given  to  anx- 
ious parents,  who  asked  their  advice  about  their  sons, 
by  two  men  who  have  won  fortune  and  honor  by  hard 
struggles.     The  first  one  said :  "  Just  let  these  young 


WJmt  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      255 

gentlemen  help  themselves  a  little.  You  can  afford 
to  give  them  a  good  education,  and  that  is  all  they 
really  need.  If  you  coddle  them,  and  give  them  the 
idea  that  they  can  always  rely  upon  their  fathers,  it 
may,  in  the  end,  be  a  positive  injury.  Love  them 
and  encourage  them,  but  put  some  'gimp'  into  them." 
The  other  man's  advice  was  equally  practical:  "If 
your  sons  are  healthy  and  willing  to  work,  they  will 
find  enough  to  do,  and  if  they  cannot  begin  at  the 
top  let  them  begin  at  the  bottom,  and  very  likely  they 
will  be  all  the  better  for  it.  I  was  born  close  bj-  a 
sawmill,  was  early  left  an  orphan,  christened  in  a  mill- 
pond,  graduated  at  a  log  schoolhouse,  and,  at  four- 
teen fancied  I  could  do  anything  I  turned  my  hand 
to  and  that  nothing  was  impossible,  and  ever  since 
I  have  been  trying  to  prove  it,  and  with  some  success. 
If  I  could  do  nothing  better,  I  would  hire  myself 
out  to  dig  potatoes  with  my  fingers,  and  when  I  had 
earned  enough  to  buy  a  hoe  I  would  dig  with  it,  and 
so  I  would  climb  up." 

The  humblest  person  can  make  himself  indispen- 
sable. A  leading  lawyer  said :  "  My  office-l>oy  is  my 
most  valuable  employee."  A  railway  president  re- 
marked: "If  I  had  to  discharge  our  whole  staff,  I 
would  keep  my  messenger  to  the  last."  I  know  a 
woman  stenographer  who  has  made  herself  so  useful 
that  when  she  takes  her  vacation  the  whole  office  is 
upset,  and  none  of  her  associates  can  fill  her  i)lace. 

All  natural  forces  follow  the  line  of  least  resistance. 
So  in  life  avoid  useless  competition,  and  seek  fresh 
fields  and  pastures  new.  On  this  i)riueiplo  Horace 
Greeley  advised  young  men  to  "go  West,"  and  thou- 
sands have  acted  upon  it.     Better  seek  the  verdant 


256     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

prairie-land  than  try  to  cultivate  worn-out  fields  in 
the  East. 

In  like  manner  many  new  callings  offer  a  splendid 
chance  for  those  who  start  with  the  right  spirit  and 
with  proper  equipment. 

It  was  once  my  fortune  to  have  to  choose  between 
five  desirable  vacancies.  I  applied  to  a  railroad  presi- 
dent, a  man  of  wide  experience,  for  counsel.  He 
said :  "  Take  the  one  which  promises  the  most  inde- 
pendence and  the  greatest  permanency,  without  re- 
gard to  pay."  His  advice  proved  sound,  as  the  open- 
ings which  seemed  most  brilliant  turned  out  to  be 
unsatisfactory,  while  the  less-promising  place  proved 
pleasant  and  profitable. 

Most  men  are  content  to  follow  the  beaten  track, 
others  seek  new  fields  and  make  positions  for  them- 
selves. When  Seth  Low  graduated  from  Columbia 
College  and  entered  his  father's  office,  he  felt  as  if  he 
was  of  no  special  value.  A  friend  advised  him  to  go 
out  among  the  brokers  and  get  points  on  the  street, 
instead  of  sticking  in  doors.  He  did  so.  As  a  result, 
in  six  months  he  knew  more  about  the  business  than 
any  one  in  the  firm,  so  that  his  judgment  on  many 
matters  was  accepted  by  his  father  and  acted  upon. 
A  friend  of  mine  who  had  lost  his  position  as  book- 
keeper and  who  failed  to  find  a  similar  place  started 
the  business  of  sending  cipher  cable  messages.  Later 
he  made  a  specialty  of  printing  cable-codes.  He  now 
makes  a  comfortable  livelihood. 

Tiffany,  the  jeweller,  is  a  good  example  of  the  value 
of  avoiding  ruts  and  striking  out  new  paths  in  busi- 
ness. Novelty  always  attracts  attention.  The  leader 
makes  himself  conspicuous  in  the  public  eye,  and,  if 


What  Slmll  Our  Boys  Do  far  a  Living  ?      257 

successful  in  one  thing,  every  one  thinks  him  iufalliljle, 
and  follows  his  lead. 

Vanderbilt  was  quick  to  abandon  steamboats  for  rail- 
roads when  the  time  came.  Robert  Bonner  founded 
his  success  on  novelty  in  advertising.  A.  T.  Stewart 
drew  trade  by  selling  only  for  cash,  and  treating  rich 
and  poor  alike.  He  told  every  salesman  to  show  just 
as  much  consideration  to  customers  who  entered  from 
Fourth  Avenue  as  to  those  coming  from  Broadway. 
He  made  it  possible  for  the  merest  child  to  buy  on 
equal  terms  with  the  millionaire.  A  lawyer  remarked 
to  a  friend,  on  the  steps  of  the  Astor  House:  "It 
has  taken  me  thirty  years  to  tliscover  that  I  am  not 
fitted  for  success  at  the  bar,  and  I  am  going  to  give 
up  law  and  take  to  mechanics."  Within  a  few  years 
he  patented  a  valuable  invention,  and  sold  it  for  a 
large  sum.  In  considering  law,  journalism  and  medi- 
cine, I  have  urged  the  beginner  to  stay  away  from  the 
big  cities  until  he  has  made  his  mark  in  the  smaller 
field.  I  should  also  advise  young  men  to  avoid  the 
old  and  crowded  occupations  and  seek  the  new  call- 
ings, to  avoid  competition,  and  to  obtain  the  ad- 
vantage of  being  first  in  a  new  field.  Bacon  said : 
"The  young  are  seldom  innovators,"  yet  while 
the  pioneer  has  to  face  many  trials,  when  ho  is 
established  he  has  a  decided  advantage  in  being  a 
pioneer. 

Ability  is  always  in  demand.  Tom  Scott,  when 
applied  to  on  behalf  of  a  young  man,  remarked  that 
he  had  half  a  dozen  well-i)aid  i)ositions  vacant,  but 
could  not  find  a  capable  man  to  fill  thorn.  E.  Bok, 
discussing  "The  Young  Man  in  Business,"  says: 
"  Upon  iufiuiry  among  publishers  I  heard  of  no  leas 
17 


258     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

than  six  well-paid  oi)ening8  which  were  waiting  for 
the  men  to  fill  them." 

I  should  never  advise  any  young  man  to  retain  a 
position,  however  pleasant  and  profitable,  which  ties 
him  to  a  desk  or  inside  of  a  bank-railing,  with  no 
chance  for  gaining  acquaintance  or  knowledge  of  the 
world.  Such  men  end  by  sticking  in  a  rut,  with  no 
increase  of  pay,  until  they  become  mere  machines, 
adding  up  columns  of  figures  or  doing  mere  routine 
work.     By  all  means  avoid  such  stagnation. 

The  whole  problem  may  be  stated  in  a  sentence : 
Don't  look  around  for  opportunities,  but  take  the 
next  step  in  the  direction  in  which  things  seem  to 
tend.  Either  supply  an  existing  want  better  than  any 
one  has  done  it  before,  or  create  a  new  demand.  If 
you  enter  the  crowded  callings,  you  must  meet  and 
surpass  able  and  numerous  rivals.  If  you  find  a  new 
opening,  you  avoid  pressing  competition  and  have  the 
advantages  of  a  virgin  field. 

The  world  moves.  There  are  no  grounds  for  as- 
suming that  our  national  growth  will  cease,  or  that 
our  industries  will  not  continue  to  expand  and  give 
abundant  opportunity  and  rich  rewards  to  the  coming 
generation. 

Speaker  Eeed  remarks  that  we  have  reached  the 
business  era.  The  Union  Pacific  receipts  for  one 
month  ($2,500,000)  equalled  the  total  yearly  revenue 
of  Queen  Elizabeth.  The  present  gross  receipts  of 
American  railroads,  even  in  dull  times,  would  have 
supported  three  hundred  kingdoms  of  the  size  of 
Henry  VIII.'s.  These  figures  indicate  the  boundless 
opportunities  afforded  by  the  marvellous  material 
growth  of  the  Union. 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livimj  ?      259 

Within  a  few  years  $150,000,000  has  been  invested 
in  electrical  railroads,  in  addition  to  the  capital  em- 
ployed in  other  electrical  plants.  The  manufacture 
of  bicycles  has  grown  to  vast  proportions .  The 
I)alace-car  industry  built  the  town  of  Pullman. 
These  new  industries  give  employment  to  thousands. 
The  fire  insurance  interest  represents  hundreds  of 
millions,  and  is  steadily  increasing.  Over  800,000 
men  are  employed  by  American  railroads,  including 
some  2,000  officers  and  7,500  clerks,  while  miles  of 
new  tracks  are  added  yearly.  There  are  over  10,000 
persons  engaged  in  the  express  business.  The  United 
States  Government  employees,  under  civil  service 
rules,  numbered  85,000  persons  in  1896.  Labor-sav- 
ing de\dces  throw  men  out  of  work,  but  indirectly 
they  supply  employment  to  others.  American  sew- 
ing-machine companies  give  work  to  10,000  hands. 
Since  the  introduction  of  steam,  thousands  of  men 
have  found  occupation  in  building  engines,  boilers, 
rails,  cars,  bridges,  etc.  The  making  of  telegraph 
wires  and  cables  is  a  large  industry.  New  processes 
for  preparing  and  packing  foods  give  employment  to 
thousands,  and  add  to  every  man's  earnings  by  cheaji- 
ening  domestic  supplies.  Fourteen  millions  have  been 
embarked  in  raising  California  fruits,  and  8(iven  mil- 
lions in  flower-culture.  The  last  half-century  has  seen 
an  enormous  extension  of  the  American  railway  system 
gridironing  the  Union  with  iron  rails.  ^Millions  of 
immigrants  from  abroad,  and  from  other  States,  have 
populated  the  West,  where  farms  have  multiplied  and 
towns  and  cities  have  grown  up  like  mushrooms.  Tlio 
New  South  since  the  war  lias  developed  its  mines  and 
factories  to  vast  proportions. 


260     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Liviwj  ? 

This  is  a  period  of  advancing  civilization.  Wealth 
is  increasing,  and  with  it  a  love  of  luxury.  Public 
taste  is  improving.  The  best  of  everything  is  appre- 
ciated. Such  spectacles  as  the  Horse  and  Dog  shows 
in  New  York,  or  the  Bradley-Martin  ball,  would  have 
been  impossible  before  the  war.  There  is  unlimited 
opportunity  to  cater  to  the  desires  of  prosperous 
Americans  by  gratifying  their  taste,  comfort  and  love 
of  ease.  It  is  also  an  age  of  specialties  and  of  or- 
ganization. On  the  one  hand,  the  huge  department- 
stores  gather  a  host  of  diverse  articles  under  one 
roof — dressgoods  and  groceries,  underwear  and  hard- 
ware, books  and  bicycles,  furs  and  furniture,  shoes 
and  satins.  On  the  other  hand,  some  men  devote 
their  entire  attention  to  making  one  thing — neckties, 
picture-frames,  lamp-chimneys,  pocketbooks,  print- 
er's ink,  ice  cream.  Others  make  a  specialty  of 
dealing  in  old  furniture,  rare  books,  prints,  bric-a- 
brac.  No  less  than  $200,000  worth  of  the  Cuban  war 
revenue-stamps  were  bought  by  stamp-collectors. 
There  is  an  ever-increasing  number  of  popular  fads, 
any  one  of  which  can  be  made  the  basis  of  a  new 
business. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  producing  field  is  far  wider, 
and  offers  more  chances  to  the  beginner  who  has  no 
capital  but  his  hands,  than  the  commercial  field. 
The  bridges,  aqueducts,  tunnels  and  other  great  en- 
terprises now  being  executed  could  not  have  been 
carried  to  completion  by  the  men  trained  before  the 
war.  They  require  a  higher  class  of  artisans,  and 
more  skilful  superintendents  than  were  the  men 
of  that  day.  Executive  talent  is  now  in  demand.  A 
position  as  "  captain  of  industry"  in  the  great  indus- 


What  SJmU  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livinfj  ?     2fil 

trial  army  should  oflfer  the  highest  stimulus  to  the 
ambitious  American.  The  success  of  Andrew  Caruegie 
in  America,  Brassey  and  Bessemer  in  England, 
and  Krupp  in  Germany  should  satisfy  the  most 
aspiring.  Whoever  can  "make  two  blades  of  grass 
grow  where  one  grew  before"  is  a  jiublic  benefactor. 
Men  like  Pillsbury,  in  the  flour  industry ;  Pullman, 
the  inventor  of  the  palace  car;  Cramp,  the  ship- 
builder; Fairbanks,  the  scale-maker;  Steinway,  the 
piano-maker,  and  a  host  of  other  like  men  are  far 
more  to  be  admired  and  emulated  than  the  sham  suc- 
cesses of  the  Stock  Exchange. 

The  following  table  shows,  in  a  general  way,  the 
five  principal  groups  of  occupations  for  men  in  this 
country,  and  also  their  comparative  growth  or  de- 
cline from  1870  to  1890. 

Occupation.  1870.  1890. 

Agriculture,  fisheries,  and  miuing 40.29  34.22 

Professional  service 1.96  2.60 

Domestic  and  personal  service 9.39  11.06 

Trade  and  transportation 8. 48  12. 72 

Manufacturing  and  meclianical  industries  . .  14.71  16.69 

Total 74.83        77.29 

Agriculture  has  declined,  owing  t(j  the  introduction 
of  farm  machinery,  which  has  tended  to  make  hand- 
work arduous  and  unprofitable.  The  professions  have 
gained  in  numl)ers  and  i)Opularity.  Trade  and  trans- 
portation have  increased  fifty  per  cent.  Manufacture 
and  mechanical  industries  sliow  a  fair  advance.  The 
greatest  increase  has  been  in  the  higher  departments 
of  business,  in  those  occupations  which  call  for  skilled 
la])or.  ("  Bulletin  of  Department  of  Labor,"  January, 
1897,  p.  410.)     The  influ.\  of  machinery  has  .sliglitly 


262     What  Slmll  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

lessened  the  number  of  male  wood  and  leather  work- 
ers since  1870.  The  number  of  textile  workers  has 
remained  stationary.  There  has  been  a  slight  de- 
crease in  the  number  of  boatmen,  fishermen  and 
sailors ;  also  among  laborers  in  general.  There  has 
been  a  uniform  increase  in  the  number  of  clothing- 
makers,  locomotive  engineers  and  firemen,  food  pre- 
parers, metal-workers,  printers,  engravers,  book- 
binders, steam-railroad  employees,  tobacco  and  cigar 
factory  operatives.  Bankers,  brokers,  merchants  and 
manufacturers  have  increased  slightly,  and  also  pro- 
fessional men,  but  agents,  collectors  and  commercial 
travellers,  bookkeepers,  clerks  and  salesmen  show  a 
far  greater  increase,  despite  the  influx  of  women  into 
commercial  life. 

I  have  compiled  from  the  census  reports  the  follow- 
ing list  of  occupations  which  show  a  marked  increase 
in  numbers  engaged  therein  from  1870  to  1890.  This 
will  indicate  the  tendencies  of  the  time,  in  connection 
with  this  subject,  and  will  guide  the  beginner  in  his 
choice  of  a  calling : 

1870.  1890. 

Builders  and  Contractors 10,231  49,988 

Publishers  of  Periodicals  and  Books 1,577  6,284 

Apiarists 136  1, 773 

Livery  -Stable  Keepers 8, 504  26, 757 

Actors 2,058  9,728 

Architects 2,017  8, 070 

Artists  and  Art  Teachers 4, 081  22, 496 

Authors 979  6,714 

Chemists  and  Metallurgists 772  4, 503 

Gardeners,  Florists 33, 632  72, 601 

Designers,  Draughtsmen,  Inventors 1,286  9,391 

Engineers,  Surveyors '''.  374  43, 239 

Musicians  and  Music  Teachers 16,010  63, 155 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?     263 

ISTO.  1890. 

Theatrical  Managers 1, 177  18,055 

Veterinary  Surgeons 1, 166  6, 494 

Agents  and  Collectors 20,316      174,582 

Commercial  Travellers 7,262  58,691 

Telegraph  and  Telephone  Operators 8,316  52,214 

Confectioners 8,219  23,251 

Trunk  and  Pocketbook  Makers 2,047         6,279 

Paperhangers 2,490  12,369 

Plumbers,  Gas  and  Steam  Fitters 11, 143  56, 607 

Roofers  and  Slaters 2, 750         7, 043 

Clock  and  Watch  Makers 1 ,  779  25, 252 

Electro-platers 2, 756 

Lead  and  Zinc  Workers , 649         4, 616 

Metal-Workers 79  16,694 

Stove  and  Furnace  Makers 1, 543         8, 932 

Wire-Workers 2,796  12,319 

Hosiery-Mill  Operatives 3, 653  29, 555 

Silk-Mill  Operatives 3,256  34, 855 

Upholsterers 6,111  25,666 

Wood-Workers 10,789  67,360 

Box-Makers 6,080  28,640 

Photographers 7.558  20.040 

Piano  and  Organ  Makers 3,579  15,335 

Potters 5,060  14,928 

Rope  and  Cordage  Makers 2, 675         8. 001 

Telegraph  and  Telephone  Linemen 11,134 

Dairymen  and  Dairy  women 3, 550  17,895 

Lumbermen 17,752  65.866 

Stock-Raisers 15,359  70,729 

Wood-Choppers 8.338  33,697 

Street-Raihvay  Employees 5, 103  37,434 

Bleachers,  Dyers,  and  Scourers 4,901  14,210 

Mineral  Waters 458  7,230 

Oil-Works  Employees 1.747  6.634 

Messenger  and  Office  Boys 8,717  51.355 

Packers.  Shippers 5,461  24.916 

Janitors  1.769  21.5.56 

Sextons 1.151  4.0M2 

Watchmen,  Policemen,  Detectives 13,384  74.629 


264     WJiat  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

In  this  country  of  almost  universal  horse-worship, 
where  most  persons  of  any  means  own  a  trotter,  not 
to  mention  the  millions  of  cattle  on  a  thousand  hills, 
there  is  ample  field  for  the  veterinary  profession. 
Thus  far  it  has  hardly  been  suiBBciently  appreciated. 
It  will  not  be  long,  however,  before  sensible  men  will 
refuse  to  intrust  the  care  of  valuable  animals  to  any 
but  trained  veterinarians.  It  does  not  take  long  to 
master  the  profession,  and  young  men  who  are  looking 
about  for  a  calling  should  ponder  its  advantages. 

The  value  of  live-stock  in  the  United  States  is  enor- 
mous. Some  of  the  items  are  as  follows:  Horses 
and  mules,  11,149,800;  cattle,  27,870,700;  sheep, 
35,935,300;  swine,  25,726,800.  No  other  country 
can  make  a  showing  which  approaches  these  figures, 
and  yet  no  country  is  so  ill  provided  with  veterinary 
surgeons.  In  consequence  millions  of  dollars  are 
sacrificed  yearly.  Hog  cholera  alone  has  cost 
$20,000,000.  There  is  room  for  hundreds  of  competent 
practitioners  in  this  profession. 

The  course  of  study  at  the  New  York  Veterinary  Col- 
lege requires  two  years.  The  expenses  are  not  heavy. 
A  graduate  can  earn  $1,500  the  first  year,  whereas  a 
young  physician's  income  averages  only  $300.  Lead- 
ing veterinarians  have  made  as  high  as  $20,000  a  year. 
Some  complain  of  the  disagreeable  features  incident 
to  their  practice,  but  that  hardly  can  be  avoided.  A 
farmer  who  would  refuse  to  give  more  than  a  dollar 
for  a  doctor's  visit  to  his  sick  wife  will  cheerfully  pay 
a  three-dollar  fee  to  a  veterinary  surgeon  for  attending 
a  sick  horse.  The  charge  for  a  visit  to  a  valuable 
horse  or  blooded  cow  is  often  twenty-five  dollars. 
The  profession  is  only  in  its  infancy.     Its  standing 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      265 

is  uo  lower  than  was  dentistry  in  the  early  days  of 
that  profession.  It  promises  to  ecpial  that  of  any 
jjrofession.  It  demands  skill  in  diagnosis,  because 
the  patient  cannot  be  questioned.  The  veterinarian 
should  be  a  man  of  large  scientific  attainments,  ex- 
cellent powers  of  observation,  and  possess  sound 
judgment.  The  famous  Dr.  Koch  was  a  veterinary 
surgeon  in  Breslau. 

There  is  constant  demand  upon  the  veterinary  col- 
leges for  skilful  practitioners,  and  those  who  have 
been  sent  out  thus  far  have  at  once  stepped  into  very 
lucrative  practices. 

Civil  engineering  is  not  so  promising  a  profession 
as  formerly,  because  of  the  decline  in  railway  con- 
struction. Electrical  and  municipal  engiueeriug  offer 
a  better  and  wider  field.  In  time  we  may  expect  to 
see  engineers  take  up  contracting,  either  in  oi)])osition 
to  or  in  partnership  with  the  practical  men  who  now 
perform  such  services.  An  engineer  who  can  supple- 
ment scientific  skill  with  executive  and  business  ca- 
pacity has  abundant  ox)portunitie8  for  honorable  and 
profitable  employment.  The  average  engineer's  earn- 
ings are  estimated  at  S2,500.  Only  forty  of  the  eight 
hundred  graduates  from  the  School  of  Mines  have  given 
up  professional  pursuits,  a  far  better  showing  than  the 
record  of  failures  in  business.  The  day  has  gone  by 
when  a  corporation  can  bo  mauaged  in  such  a  way 
that,  as  Tom  Scott  remarked,  "  I  might  make  a  mist^iko 
costing  the  company  S3,000,()(M),  and  nobody  would 
find  it  out."  The  highest  technical  training  is  now 
demanded  of  executive  officers. 

Electrical  engineering  is  one  of  the  newest  fields. 
Enormous  cai)ital  is  invested   in  electric   i)lants  all 


260     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livinrj  ? 

over  tlie  world.  Young  men  have  flocked  to  the 
technical  schools  where  instruction  is  given  in  electri- 
cal science.  In  the  United  States  there  are  already 
12,583  miles  of  electric  railways.  In  Great  Britain 
and  its  colonies  there  are  only  167  miles.  This  illus- 
trates the  extent  of  the  business  in  this  country.  The 
American  Society  of  Electric  Engineers  has  850  mem- 
bers. Those  employed  in  electrical  work  throughout 
the  Union  number  30,000.  Special  hands  earn  from 
$3  to  15  a  day.  Numerous  graduates  from  the  tech- 
nical schools  receive  from  $1,000  to  $2,500  as  labora- 
tory assistants,  while  high  salaries  are  paid  to  execu- 
tive men.  Electrical  experts  earn  $25  a  day.  Patent 
experts  in  this  branch  of  inventions  charge  double  as 
much. 

Beginners  must  start  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder,  and 
not  expect  much  pay  or  promotion  until  they  show 
practical  capacity.  Mr.  Edison  has  recently  estab- 
lished a  training-school  for  Ms  employees  in  order  to 
meet  the  demand  for  experienced  and  skilled  foremen 
and  master  workmen. 

Telegraphy,  which  gave  employment  to  Edison  in 
his  youth,  affords  a  wide  field.  In  1890  the  Western 
Union  had  20,098  offices.  In  the  same  year  France 
employed  58,000  i^ersons  in  the  business;  Great 
Britain,  117,989;  Germany,  17,454.  Vast  as  is  the 
world's  telegraph  system,  it  is  not  complete.  In 
time  no  point  of  commercial  importance  on  the  earth's 
surface  will  remain  unconnected  by  wire  or  cable  with 
civilization.  A  competent  telegraph  operator  should 
be  able  to  decipher  manuscript  rapidly  and  accurately, 
to  send  messages  intelligently,  and  to  receive  and  copy 
them  at  a  fair  rate  of  speed.     Quickness  is  indispen- 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livhuf  ?      207 

sable,  but  never  at  the  expense  of  legibility,  neatness 
and  accuracy.  The  Western  Uniou  pays  $20  a  mouth 
to  beginners,  which  may  be  doubled  in  a  year  or  two 
if  they  are  skilled  and  accurate.  Four  or  five  years 
are  required  to  become  proficient.  Not  more  than 
one  operator  in  ten  reaches  the  higher  grades.  The 
chief  operators,  division  superintendents  and  oflico 
managers  are  well  paid.  Most  executive  officers  be- 
gan as  operators.  Promotion  is  slow  unless  one  has 
influence. 

During  the  Civil  War  expert  operators  wore  i)aid 
$118  a  month.  Now  $60  is  the  limit.  Women  arc 
paid  $40,  or  even  less. 

Many  telegraph  ojierators  are  employed  in  news- 
paper and  business  oflices,  railways,  aud  in  other 
places,  where  they  have  shorter  hours,  better  pay  and 
more  agreeable  surroundings  than  the\'  do  with  the 
telegraph  companies.  If  in  confidential  positions, 
they  sometimes  receive  $75  a  month. 

The  mineral  ])roduct  of  the  United  States  for  1895 
was  valued  at  $512,000,000.  Some  of  the  items  were : 
Pig  iron,  $82,000,000;  coal,  $197,000,000;  gold,  $47,- 
000,000;  copper,  $38,000,000;  silver,  $32,000,000; 
lead,  $10,000,000;  building-stone,  $34,(KH),000.  In 
the  past  fifty  years  the  value  of  the  gold  taken  from 
California  mines  exceeded  a  billion  and  one-third  dol- 
lars. A  mining  expert  says:  "The  progress  of  tlu' 
mining  industry  in  recent  years  has  heaw  so  groat 
that  no  man  is  or  can  be  an  expert  in  all  kinds  of 
mining."  While  there  never  were  so  many  good 
specialists  in  mining  as  now,  there  never  was  huoIi  a 
demand  for  well-trained  s])e('iulists.  Mining  offers 
for  the  right  men  V)etter  chances  of  success  than  any 


268     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

other  business.  The  success  comes  quicker  than  in 
other  industries.  What  is  more  important,  a  com- 
petent man  is  certain  of  steady  employment  at  good 
wages. 

Real  estate  development  has  always  given  occupa- 
tion to  thousands.  A  notable  feature  of  recent  years 
has  been  the  creation  of  summer  and  winter  health- 
resorts.  The  Atlantic  coast  is  lined  with  hotels  and 
cottages.  The  Adirondacks  and  Catskills  are  filled 
with  camps  and  parks.  Florida,  California  and 
Colorado  abound  in  winter  resorts.  Chautauqua, 
Asbury  Park,  and  Asheville  are  examples  of  rapid  and 
prosperous  growth.  A  single  example  will  show  the 
profit  in  such  undertakings.  At  Lake  wood  25,000 
acres  were  bought  for  a  dollar  an  acre.  In  1898 
125,000  was  asked  for  a  corner  building-lot.  George 
Gould's  house  there  is  said  to  have  cost  $250,000. 
There  is  room  for  a  hundred  more  health-resorts  all 
over  the  Union. 

Architecture  has  made  great  progress  during  the 
past  half-century.  Formerly  most  buildings  were 
erected  by  men  who  had  risen  from  the  ranks,  and 
who  started  in  business  without  any  training.  They 
simply  copied  conventional  plans.  This  is  still  the 
custom  in  many  places,  where  the  average  building  is 
erected  hy  the  local  carpenter,  with  a  large  amount  of 
jig-saw  ornamentation  and  very  little  else.  The 
enormous  yearly  losses  by  fii'e  and  the  wretched 
sanitary  condition  of  such  houses  prove  their  flimsy 
construction,  while  their  appearance  is  detrimental  to 
public  taste.  Large  sections  of  our  great  cities  are 
covered  with  houses  erected  by  speculative  builders, 
which  have  been  rented  or  bought  by  some  of  our 


What  Shall  Our  Bays  Do  for  a  Livinrj  ?      '2«iO 

best  citizens.  Gradually  there  came  a  demand  for 
more  careful  and  original  work.  At  first  this  was 
supplied  b}'  builders  who  supplemented  their  j»racti- 
cal  experience  by  the  study  of  architecture.  Their 
work  is  to  be  seen  in  such  buildings  as  A.  T.  Stewart's 
mansion,  and  in  various  commercial  buildings  and  in- 
stitutions. The  public,  however,  were  not  sati.sfied 
with  these  structures,  and  required  that  architects 
should  be  able  to  design  artistically  as  well  as  to 
build  honestly.  Courses  of  study  in  architecture 
have  been  provided  at  Columbia  University  and  at 
the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology.  Many 
of  the  graduates  of  these  schools  have  travelled  and 
studied  abroad,  to  observe  the  best  models  in  Euro- 
{)eau  cities.  It  is  becoming  the  rule  to  employ  archi- 
tects to  design  all  houses  or  buiklings  of  any  i)reten- 
sion.  The  result  of  this  demand  was  seen  in  the 
buildings  at  the  World's  Fair,  and  in  the  recent  com- 
petitions for  the  Columbia  University,  the  Academy 
of  Design,  the  Boston  Library,  and  the  New  York 
Consolidated  Library,  besides  the  countless  office- 
buildings,  hotels,  municipal  and  other  buildings 
which  have  recently  been  erected. 

D.  H.  Burnham,  in  Architcdun-  and  IhiihUntj, 
says :  "  There  is  a  fine  field  for  young  architects  wlio 
have  the  best  available  training.  There  were  never 
in  the  past,  and  are  not  now,  such  oi)i)ortuniti«'s  as 
the  future  holds  in  store  for  men  of  high  worth." 

Forestry  has  long  been  pnictised  as  a  profession 
abroad.  In  time  it  will  Ix^  made  a  serious  pursuit  iu 
this  country.  The  exaiui)le  which  George  Vauderbilt 
has  set  at  Biltmore,  N.  C,  and  th(^  practical  and  j.rofit- 
able  results  achieved  there  by  Mr.  Piuchot,  now  chief 


•270     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

of  the  United  States  Forestry  Department,  have  drawn 
I)ublic  attention  to  the  importance  of  such  work.  Mr. 
Vanderbilt's  example  will  surely  find  imitators  among 
other  large  property  owners,  Adirondack  clubs  and 
State  park  officials. 

Landscape  architecture  has  been  cultivated  in 
America  since  the  days  of  A.  J.  Downing.  Addi- 
tional lustre  has  been  given  to  it  by  the  labors  of 
Frederick  Law  Olmsted,  Calvert  Vaux,  Samuel  Par- 
sons and  others.  It  is  a  very  attractive  calling,  and 
furnishes  opportunity  for  both  the  artist  and  the 
practical  man.  It  promises  to  expand  steadily,  and 
through  the  growth  of  public  parks  and  recreation 
grounds,  and  the  increased  interest  shown  among 
cultivated  men  everywhere,  to  afford  profitable  occu- 
pation for  many  trained  men. 

Eaising  flowers  has  become  a  distinct  business,  in 
which  several  millions  of  capital  are  invested.  Sup- 
plying cut  flowers  alone  gives  employment  to  thou- 
sands. A  florist  who  has  thirty  greenhouses  near 
Short  Hills,  N.  J. ,  says :  "  Flowers,  especially  orchids, 
are  as  safe  an  investment  as  any  merchandise."  Cut 
flowers  are  sent  through  the  mails.  When  it  is  stated 
that  $30,000  worth  of  flowers  were  used  at  a  New  York 
dinner  party,  some  idea  may  be  formed  of  their  con- 
sumption. Twenty  years  ago  there  were  not  two- 
score  florists  in  New  York  and  Brooklyn.  Now  the 
number  is  one  hundred  and  twelve,  while  the  sales 
have  doubled  in  eight  or  ten  years,  with  a  steadily 
increasing  demand. 

Despite  the  common  belief  that  farming  does  not 
pay,  there  are  abundant  chances  to  make  a  comfort- 
able living  in  agriculture,  if  men  are  intelligent  and 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?     271 

careful,  adapt  themselves  to  new  methods,  aud 
thoroughly  understand  their  business.  There  are 
4,504,641  small  farms  in  the  United  States,  each 
worth  about  82,908.  The  mortgages  do  not  represent 
sixteen  per  cent  of  the  entire  valuation.  Few  city 
dwellers  who  work  with  their  hands  or  fill  clerical 
positions  can  boast  of  liomes  of  ocpial  value.  Whih^ 
from  1870  to  1890  our  population  increased  only  62 
per  cent,  the  number  of  farms  increased  80  i)er  cent 
and  the  cultivated  acres  108  per  cent.  The  dairy- 
men of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  the  fruit-growers 
of  New  Jersey  and  the  Hudson  River,  and  the  market 
gardeners  of  Massachusetts  (juietly  work  their  small 
farms,  and  make  them  i)ay.  The  total  dairy  i)roduct 
of  the  Union  is  over  $400,000,000,  and  the  value  of 
the  milch  cows  $302,000,000.  Over  $10,000,000  are 
invested  in  condensed-milk  factories,  which  give  em- 
ployment to  14,291  persons.  The  product  doubled  in 
ten  years,  and  so  did  the  number  of  emi>loyees,  while 
the  salaries  increased  fourfold. 

Fish-culture  is  one  of  the  new  and  promising  in- 
dustries. There  are  a  score  of  tish-fanns  in  New 
England  alone.  The  most  barren  land  will  serve, 
provided  there  is  good  water.  Raising  trout  and 
other  rare  fish  pays  well. 

Planting  fruit-trees  along  roadsides  yields  an  enor- 
mous revenue  abroad.  It  niiglit  1k>  inad(>  to  pay  in 
this  country. 

Agricultural  products  constitute  seventy  \m>t  cent  of 
American  exjxirts  and  far  exceed  in  amount  our  (Ex- 
ports of  manufiictured  articles. 

The  American  farmer  needs  only  business  tact  and 
technical  training  to  become  prosperous.    He  prtxluccs 


272     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

far  less  to  the  acre  than  the  European  or  Asiatic.  He 
allows  a  large  part  of  his  land  to  be  unproductive.  He 
must  learn  to  utilize  barren  hillsides,  sandy  wastes, 
swamps,  and  roadsides.  He  must  also  learn  how  to 
sell  his  products.  The  prosperous  farmer  is  not  the 
one  who  holds  his  butter  and  his  eggs,  his  corn  and 
his  potatoes,  his  apples  and  his  wheat,  until  shrink- 
age or  decay  covers  all  possible  advantage  of  delay, 
and  while  waste  of  time  and  worry  cover  more.  What 
the  farmer  wants  is  tact  in  marketing,  and  that  is  noth- 
ing more  than  educated  common  sense. 

The  average  time  required  to  study  chemistry  is 
four  years.  Few  students  take  a  liberal  course, 
though  all  should  do  so.  Most  graduates  are  too 
ambitious,  and  expect  too  much.  The  chief  field  is 
metallurgy,  mining  and  assaj'ing.  Chemists  are  also 
necessary  in  breweries,  oil  and  sugar  refineries,  paint, 
drug  and  cigarette  factories,  and  gasworks.  The 
American  Chemical  Society  has  nine  hundred  mem- 
bers, and  includes  most  of  the  representative  men  in 
the  profession.  There  are  over  two  thousand  chemists 
in  the  United  States.  Twenty  chemists  are  nov/  em- 
ployed where  one  used  to  be.  An  income  of  $3,000  is 
about  the  maximum.  The  cost  of  fitting  up  a  labora- 
tory is  $400  or  $500. 

A  number  of  chemists  are  attached  to  boards  of 
health,  and  analyze  milk,  water,  air  and  foods. 
Many  of  the  ablest  men,  such  as  Professors  Chandler 
and  Remsen,  are  connected  with  colleges.  These 
men  are  often  retained  as  experts  in  court,  and  receive 
large  fees,  especially  in  poisoning  cases.  A  few 
chemists  have  made  money  by  inventions.  The  late 
Professor  Casamajor  sold  his  patents  to  the  Have- 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ?      273 

meyer  Sugar  CompaDy  for  $75,000.  Chemistry  ia 
taugiit  in  the  physical  courses  of  all  large  colleges. 
The  best  schools  are  in  connection  witli  Harvard, 
Yale,  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  and 
the  School  of  Mines,  Columbia  University. 

Nearly  all  the  great  manufacturing  concerns  now 
employ  one  or  more  chemists  io  analyze  raw  matt*- 
rials  and  to  utilize  waste  products.  Other  chemists 
have  their  owni  laboratories.  They  make  tlieir  living 
by  analyzing  chemical  products,  acting  as  experts  in 
lawsuits,  giving  advice,  devising  new  chemical  proc- 
esses and  perfecting  old  ones. 

The  development  of  the  chemical  industry  has  kept 
pace  with  scientific  enlightenment.  Many  drugs 
which  were  formerly  imported  are  now  manufactured 
in  the  United  States.  The  annual  production  of 
chemicals  has  doubled  in  recent  years. 

The  graduates  in  chemistry  from  the  School  of 
Mines  find  little  trouble  in  sc.^curing  situations  jih  as- 
sistants in  mining  and  manufacturing  establishments. 
The  usual  pay  is  SGOO  to  $1,(MX)  i)or  annum.  If  they 
show  ability  and  executive  capacity,  there  are  fair 
chances  for  promotion.  Comjjlaint  is  made  of  the 
number  of  German  chemists  who  are  willing  to  work 
for  small  pay," but  such  men,  though  they  may  bo 
careful  and  accurate,  lack  the  American  energy,  and 
seldom  rise  above  subordinate  ])ositious.  A  goo<l 
chemist,  particuhirly  if  he  is  competent  to  be  Huiwrin- 
tendent,  may  earn  as  high  as  $3,0(X),  and  his  iKwitiou 
will  probably  be  permanent. 

Dentistry  has  becomes  in  recent  years  a  j>rofe.MHiou, 
with  numerous  training-schools  and  with  practition- 
ers in  every  cit}'  and  town  of  any  size.  It  is  a  cou- 
18 


274     What  Sludl  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

fining  occupation,  and  therefore  not  healthful.  The 
successful  dentist  needs  to  have  manual  dexterity. 
He  should  also  be  refined  and  neat  in  person.  The 
introduction  of  new  appliances  and  the  help  of  female 
assistants  have  greatly  reduced  the  drudgery  of  the 
dentist's  work.  Outside  of  the  big  cities  the  pay  is 
moderate.  In  New  York  many  dentists  earn  large 
incomes,  and  have  more  patients  than  they  can  attend 
to.  Skill  and  social  qualities  are  indispensable.  It 
is  only  a  few  years  since  dentists  had  no  social  stand- 
ing, and  were  considered  charlatans  and  humbugs. 
American  dentists  are  unsurpassed.  Dr.  Evans  made 
a  fortune  in  France  because  of  his  social  qualities, 
skill,  and  the  lack  of  competition  from  European  den- 
tists. Napoleon  III.  and  most  of  the  crowned  heads 
were  among  his  patients. 

Handsome  fortunes  have  been  made  in  the  manu- 
facture of  dental  supplies  and  appliances.  This  has 
now  become  an  extensive  and  flourishing  business. 

Pharmacy,  like  dentistry,  has  grown  within  a  few 
years  from  a  minor  occupation  to  dignified  one. 
Hundreds  of  students  graduate  every  year  from  the 
pharmaceutical  colleges  in  New  York,  Philadelphia 
and  Louisville.  Many  eminent  men  have  been  identi- 
fied with  the  business. 

Sir  Isaac  Newton  commenced  his  career  in  the  back 
room  of  an  apothecar}^  shop.  Sir  Humphry  Davy 
was  an  apothecary's  apprentice.  Liebig  began  as  an 
apothecary's  boy,  at  Darmstadt.  The  electro-mag- 
netic discoveries  of  Orsted  were  commenced  in  the 
shop  of  his  father  in  Denmark,  who  was  a  phar- 
macist. Bequinn,  Marggraff,  Diesbach,  and  Scheele, 
of  Sweden,  whose  scientific  researches  are  famous, 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  IAvukj?     275 

were  all  apothecaries.  Pliarmac}%  therefore,  retaius 
a  flavor  of  science.  UnfortuDat^ly  the  business  is 
overdone,  and  profits  have  been  lessened  by  compe- 
tition. The  department-stores  sell  perfumery  and 
drugs.  The  druggist's  hours  are  long  and  his  work  is 
confining.  It  is,  therefore,  a  business  not  io  l>e 
viewed  with  favor,  unless  circumstances  are  8i)ecially 
advantageous. 

Nearly  every  famous  American  has  at  some  time 
taught  school.  Teaching  is  excellent  mental  disci- 
pline. One  never  knows  anything  thoroughly  un- 
til he  tries  to  impart  it  to  others.  Teaching  culti- 
vates patience,  sympathy  and  persistency.  The  born 
teacher  puts  himself  in  the  learner's  i)lace,  and  sym- 
pathizes with  the  latter's  point  of  view  and  tlifticul- 
ties. 

Unfortunately  teachers  are  so  underpaid  that  few 
men  adopt  it  as  a  permanent  occupation,  but  use  it  as 
stepping-stone  to  something  better.  Nevertheless, 
Dr.  J.  S.  Billings  says:  "If  you  have  the  toju-hiiig 
faculty  by  all  means  cultivate  it,  as  it  is  rare  and  well 
paid."  The  examples  of  Agassiz  and  Professor  You- 
mans,  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  Presidents  Eliot, 
White,  Harris,  Adams,  Harper  and  Oilman  on  the 
other,  indicate  the  possibilities  of  success  for  the 
broad-minded  educator,  especially  if  he  has  exeentivo 
ability.  Just  now  there  is  a  great  demand  for  cai>able 
instructors  in  every  department. 

New  York  is  an  educational  beehive,  filled  with 
students  of  both  sexes,  from  all  parts  of  th»v  world. 
Thousands  of  earnest  and  ambitious  men  and  women 
come  here  in  search  of  knowledge,  and  particularly 
of  advanced  training.     Barnard  College?  alone,  it  is 


276     WJiat  S^mll  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

said,  will  draw  one  thousand  advanced  scholars.  Law, 
medicine,  dentistry,  science,  pedagogy,  elocution,  mu- 
sic, architecture,  and  the  drama,  all  have  their  stu- 
dents. Such  institutions  as  the  Training  School  for 
Teachers,  New  York  Trade  School,  the  American 
School  of  the  Dramatic  Art,  Packard's  Business  Col- 
lege, Women's  School  of  Applied  Design,  are  but  a  few 
of  those  that  offer  special  attractions  for  students  of  all 
ages  and  of  both  sexes.  Well-qualified  teachers  find 
little  trouble  in  obtaining  good  positions.  The  small 
compensation  given  to  most  of  them  is  chiefly  due  to 
the  competition  of  women. 

College  professors  complain  bitterly  of  their  com- 
pensation. The  average  salarj'  at  Columbia  is  $1,600 
and  at  Harvard  $1,200,  both  rich  universities.  A 
few  men  of  international  reputation  receive  $2,500  to 
$3,000,  but  the  maximum  is  $5,000.  No  man  can 
support  a  family  comfortably  in  a  large  city  on  the 
average  professor's  salary.  If  he  has  not  private 
means,  he  must  live  in  the  suburbs,  stint  himself  in 
books,  clothes,  social  opportunities,  or  spend  on  "  pot- 
boiling"  work  the  time  and  energ}^  which  should  be 
given  to  his  college.  The  "  Harvard  Book"  contains 
an  eloquent  description  of  the  trials  and  small  re- 
wards of  college  instructors :  "  Hard-worked,  poorly 
paid,  much-tormented  martyrs,  whose  sole  solace 
is  contact  with  youth  and  freshness,  which  keeps 
men  young  when  their  comrades  have  grown 
old,  and  keeps  them  green  when  the  others  have 
dried  up." 

The  professors  in  American  scientific  schools  are 
constantly  consulted  by  business  men  in  relation  to 
practical   matters,   and,   therefore,   are  broader  and 


What  ShaU  Oiir  Boys  Do  for  a  Livimj  ?     Til 

more  in  toucli  with  the  best  and  latest  exi)erieiice 
thau  their  English  or  Continental  compeere. 

The  word  "  science"  has  to  some  minds  a  purely 
abstract  meaning.  Few  i)ersons  imagine  that  it  oflfers 
a  means  of  gaining  an  honorable  and  protit^iblo  liveli- 
hood. Yet  that  such  is  the  case  is  proved  by  the  ex- 
amples of  Faraday,  Tyndall,  Professor  Henry,  not  to 
mention  others.  Hundreds  of  such  men  now  till 
government  positions  or  are  connected  with  learned 
institutions.  They  are  conti'ibuting  to  scientific 
discovery  and  also  to  public  enlightenment.  They 
are  well  rewarded  for  their  labors. 

A  striking  example  of  the  possibilities  of  men  ris- 
ing from  the  ranks  is  seen  in  the  case  of  railmad 
builders.  While  a  cheap  class  of  labor  is  employed, 
and  Italians  have  replaced  Irish  and  Germans,  gocnl 
foremen  are  in  demand.  They  earn  as  higli  as  $ir)0 
a  month.  Many  of  them  have  worked  up  from  the 
shovel.  They  succeed  better  thau  civil  engineers, 
who  do  not  seem  to  know  how  to  handle  men.  Tlie 
railway  contractor  of  twenty  jears  ago  did  his  work 
with  the  aid  of  hundreds  or  thousands  of  Irishmen, 
and  a  sprinkling  of  Germans  and  men  of  other  na- 
tionalities. The  railway  contractor  of  to-day  om- 
I)loys  Italian  labor.  It  is  the  custom  to  sublet  all 
work  to  small  contractors,  who  nndertako  four  or  live 
miles  of  road.  The  small  contractor  is,  in  cllVct,  a 
boss  working  under  the  general  contractor.  The  rise 
of  the  sub-contractor  to  the  managt'iiiciit  of  larg*'  in- 
terests is  not  unusual.  Any  industrious  or  s.-iving 
teamster  lays  up  enough  to  l)uy  a  i>air  of  mules,  and 
is  able  to  get  wag<^s  for  liinisclf  and  liis  st<K'k.  Hi.H 
next  steji  is  t<j  buy  au(^)ther  pair  and  hire  a  man  to 


278      What  Sloall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

drive  them.  By  the  time  he  has  four  or  five  teams  he 
ceases  to  drive,  and  becomes  a  contractor-teamster. 
He  next  apjiears  as  a  sub-contractor,  and  takes  pro- 
gressively larger  and  larger  contracts,  until  he  finally 
appears  as  a  general  contractor  competing  for  hun- 
dreds of  miles  of  railroad.  After  that  his  work  is 
that  of  an  organizer,  the  commander  of  an  indus- 
trial army.  He  seldom  visits  the  actual  scene  of 
operations.  Perhaps  once  a  month  he  rides  over  the 
line  with  his  engineer,  making  a  suggestion  here, 
asking  a  question  there,  making  mental  note  of  large 
features,  but  seldom  troubling  about  details.  "  It  is 
absolutely  fascinating  work,"  said  a  Western  contrac- 
tor, "  and  I  long  to  be  at  the  front.  It  opens  a  lucra- 
tive field  for  men  of  executive  talent  and  honesty,  and 
force  of  character,  though  the  era  of  great  fortunes 
made  in  railway -building  is  past." 

Some  75,000  persons  are  employed  by  American 
life  insurance  companies.  Large  salaries  are  paid 
to  the  executive  officers.  Agents  are  paid  commis- 
sions on  the  business  they  secure,  and  earn  from 
$10,000  a  year  down  to  11,000.  The  agent  now  re- 
ceives a  commission  only  on  the  first  premium  paid. 
Obtaining  policy  holders  has  become  so  systematized 
that  it  is  no  longer  necessary  for  solicitors  to  resort 
to  tricks  and  devices.  Insurance  canvassers  are 
usually  persons  of  excellent  character.  The  business 
requires  tact,  good  address,  persistency  and  knowl- 
edge of  human  nature.  An  insurance  agent  must  un- 
derstand figures  and  know  how  to  persuade.  It  is  an 
eminently  respectable  occupation.  A  local  agent  in  a 
young  town  may  build  up  a  handsome  business. 
Three  New  York  companies  have  an  annual  income  of 


WJiat  Shall  Our  Boi/s  Do  for  a  IJvhuj  ?     279 

$133,000,000,    and    their    death    claims    fro«iiioutly 
amount  to  a  million  dollars  a  da}'. 

The  mmiber  of  men  employed  by  the  railways  of 
the  United  States,  on  June  30,  1897,  was  823,476. 
Among  the  number  were  30,049  station  aKcnts; 
other  station  men,  74,569;  enginemen,  35,667;  fire- 
men and  watchmen,  43,768;  telegraph  operators  and 
despatchers,  21,452.  The  aggregate  amount  of  wjiges 
and  salaries  paid  was  $465,601,581.  In  one  year  1 ,693 
employees  were  killed,  or  1  in  486;  and  27,667  were 
wounded,  or  1  in  30,  a  greater  loss  than  in  many 
pitched  battles.  The  risks  to  health  from  long  hours 
and  exposure  are  great.  No  one  should  take  up  this 
line  of  work  unlesa  he  has  a  rugged  coustitutiuu. 


CHAPTEK  XXrV. 

TURNING-POINTS  IN  LIFE. 

When  do  Men  Come  to  Maturity  ? — Achievements  of  Youthful 
Genius  —  Men  who  Mature  Late — The  Twenty-sixth  Year  — 
Examples  of  Success  Won  at  that  Age. 

Theee  are  physical  and  mental  crises  in  life.  Such 
are  the  periods  when  childhood  begins  and  ends,  when 
youth  merges  into  manhood,  when  the  twilight  of  old 
age  presages  the  nightfall  of  death.  So  also  there  is 
a  time  following  the  period  of  preparatory  training 
when  achievement  begins,  and  beyond  which  is  suc- 
cess. It  is  the  hour  of  action  after  long  reflection, 
the  time  when  character  crystallizes,  as  by  a  feather 
touch,  and  when  the  man  or  woman  finds  that  golden 
opportunity,  which  to  some  comes  but  once  in  a  whole 
life.  It  may  best  be  compared  to  the  ascent  of  a  hill- 
side. The  way  is  long  and  hard;  the  end  seems  far 
off.  We  stumble,  fall,  slip  back,  and  often  despair. 
Suddenlj^  the  last  obstacle  is  surmounted,  the  summit 
is  gained,  and  all  the  grand  vista  of  pleasant  valleys 
and  distant  peaks  bursts  into  view. 

This  period  of  achievement,  this  "tide,  which, 
taken  at  the  flood,  leads  on  to  fortune,"  seems  to 
come  to  most  persons  about  the  age  of  twenty-seven. 
In  certain  marked  instances  of  precocious  develop- 
ment, as  with  Pitt  and  Hamilton  among  statesmen; 
Byron,  Keats,  Cami^bell  and  Bryant  among  poets; 
Dickens,  Macaulay  and  Kipling  among  prose  writ- 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livimj  ?      281 

ers,  the  time  may  be  anticipated ;  while  in  the  case  of 
others — for  example,  Daute,  Hampden  and  Cromwell 
— the  clock  strikes  the  hour  late  in  life. 

Disraeli  in  "  Coningsby"  says,  "  Genius  when  young 
is  divine."  Alexander  overthrew  Darius  at  twenty- 
two.  Gaston  de  Foix  was  only  twenty-two  when  he 
stood  a  victor  on  the  plain  of  Ravenna.  Don  Juan 
of  Austria  won  Lepanto  at  twenty-five.  Cortes  was 
little  more  than  thirty  when  ho  invaded  Mexico. 
Maurice  of  Saxony  died  at  thirty-two.  Nelson  was  a 
post-captain  at  twenty-one.  Pascal  wrote  a  great 
book  at  sixteen.  Bolingbroke  and  Pitt  were  both 
ministers  before  other  Englishmen  leave  oflf  cricket. 
Grotius  was  in  practice  at  seventeen,  and  Attorney- 
General  at  twenty-four.  Sir  Isaac  Newton  was  not 
twenty  when  he  saw  the  apple  fall.  Hars'ey  discov- 
ered the  circulation  of  the  blood  at  eighteen.  Hart- 
le.y's  great  principle  was  develojjed  in  an  inaugural 
dissertation  at  college.  Hume  wrote  his  treatise  on 
"Human  Nature"  while  still  a  young  man.  Galileo, 
Liebnitz,  and  Euler  commenced  their  discoveries 
quite  young.  Chatterton  wrote  all  his  beautiful 
things,  exhausted  all  hopes  of  life,  and  saw  nothing 
better  than  death  at  eighteen.  Burns  and  Byron  both 
died  early.  Dickens  wrote  "Pickwick"  at  twenty- 
one,  and  Daudet  issued  "  Contosa  Ninon"  at  twenty- 
three.  James  Payn  made  his  bow  to  the  jmblic  at 
twenty-four.  Holman  Hunt  began  to  exhibit  when 
he  was  nineteen,  and  painted  tlie  "Liglit  of  tlie 
World"  at  twenty-five.  Sir  Arthur  Sullivan  was  well 
known  as  a  composer  at  nineteen.  Sir  George  Al- 
exander Macfarren  produced  his  first  sympliouy  at 
twenty -one. 


282      IVJiat  Slmll  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

On  the  other  hand,  Washington  was  forty-three 
and  John  Adams  forty  when  the  American  Revolu- 
tion began.  Most  of  the  men  prominent  in  public 
life  at  the  time  of  the  attack  on  Fort  Sumter,  includ- 
ing Lincoln,  Hamlin,  Seward,  Chase,  Cameron,  An- 
drew Johnson,  Fessenden,  Thaddeus  Stevens  and 
Horatio  Seymour,  were  over  fifty. 

I  have  compiled  the  following  data  regarding  not- 
able persons,  to  prove  my  theory  as  to  the  age  when 
opportunity  first  offers  itself.  I  do  not  assume  that 
native  talent  or  genius  is  first  revealed  at  any  partic- 
ular period,  but  that  its  possessor  usually  gains  his 
first  public  recognition  at  about  his  or  her  twenty- 
seventh  year.  At  that  age  the  rills  of  youth  have 
merged  into  a  stream  of  some  volume ;  cartilage  has 
hardened  into  bone;  the  bud  is  ready  to  burst  into 
full  flower. 

Milton  wrote  "Comus"  at  twenty-seven.  Pope 
translated  Homer  and  Schiller  wrote  "  Don  Carlos" 
at  the  same  age.  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson  was  doing 
hack-work  for  Cave  the  bookseller  and  writing  his 
first  tragedy  at  that  period  of  his  life.  At  the  same 
age  Addison  was  travelling  on  the  Continent  and 
gathering  materials  for  "Cato."  Berkeley  was 
twenty-six  when  he  published  his  essay  on  "Vision." 
Edmund  Burke  published  his  famous  "  Essay  on  the 
Sublime  and  Beautiful"  at  twenty-six.  Carlyle  at 
twenty-eight  commenced  contributing  his  famous  crit- 
ical essays  to  the  Edinhurgh  and  other  reviews.  Lord 
Chatham  entered  Parliament  at  twenty-seven,  and  at 
once  commanded  attention.  Jonathan  Swift  was  ad- 
mitted to  dean's  orders  at  twenty-six,  and  presently 
began  writing  the  "Tale  of  a  Tub."     Lord  Mansfield 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Liviny  ?      283 

at  that  age  was  called  to  the  bar,  where  his  emolu- 
ments were  soon  so  great  that  he  said :  "  I  never 
knew  the  difference  between  al)soluto  want  and  earn- 
ing an  income  of  £3,000  a  j-ear."  The  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington, who  at  school  was  a  dunce,  in  youth  a  fop, 
at  twenty-six  was  so  dissatisfied  with  army  life  that 
he  petitioned  to  be  transferred  to  the  civil  service. 
This  was  refused.  Two  years  later  he  took  a  con- 
spicuous share  in  the  Indian  war.  This  decided  his 
future.  Clive  captured  Arcot  against  overwhelming 
odds,  at  twenty-six,  and  a  year  later  fought  the  bat- 
tle of  Plassey,  which  established  English  rule  in  In- 
dia. Commodore  Perry  won  liis  famous  victory  on 
Lake  Erie  in  the  war  of  1812  when  he  was  twent\'- 
seven,  and  McDonough  was  thirt3--one  when  he  de- 
feated the  British  on  Lake  Champlain.  James  Watt 
during  his  twenty-eighth  year  accidentally  received  a 
model  of  Newcome's  steam-engine  for  repairs,  and 
in  consequence  pursued  the  experiments  which,  a 
year  later,  resulted  in  the  cardinal  discovery  of  a  sep- 
arate condensing  chamber,  the  liasis  of  the  motleru 
steam-engine.  Washington  at  twenty-oight  had  mar- 
ried, resigned  his  colonial  command,  and  retired  to  liis 
farm,  where  he  lived  until  he  received  the  call  t«>  take 
command  of  his  country's  armies.  Canning's  brilliant 
labors  in  Parliament  were  recognized  in  his  twonty- 
seventh  year,  by  his  being  made  Undor-S<vn'tary  of 
State.  Richard  Cobdeu  entered  business  at  twenty- 
six,  and  began  to  acquire  the  conqM^tenco  whii-li  en- 
abled liira  afterward  to  carry  through  tlio  Corn  Law 
Reform.  Hugh  ^Miller  at  twenty -six  had  b(>como  a 
local  celebrity.  At  that  ago  Napoleon  was  waiting 
his  opportunity  in  Paris,  which  presently  camo  with 


284     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

what  Carlyle  describes  as  a  "whiff  of  grape-shot." 
The  same  year  he  was  made  commander  of  the  army 
of  Italy,  married  Josephine,  and  won  the  battles  of 
Lodi  and  Arcole.  It  was  just  after  Lodi  that  his  am- 
bitious design  of  conquest  was  formed.  Jeremy  Ben- 
tham  issued  his  first  pamphlet  on  law-reform  at  twenty- 
six.  Talleyrand  was  of  the  same  age  when  he  was 
made  general  agent  of  the  French  clergy,  his  first 
distinction.  Montalembert  issued  his  first  book, 
"The  Life  of  St.  Elizabeth  of  Hungary,"  at  twenty- 
six.  Blackstone  was  made  a  doctor  of  civil  law  at 
twenty-seven,  after  delivering  his  first  course  of  pub- 
lic lectures,  the  basis  of  his  famous  "  Commentaries." 
Kaphael  went  to  Kome  in  his  twenty-sixth  year,  and 
there  began  painting  his  famous  frescoes.  Beetho- 
ven commenced  to  compose  his  musical  masterpieces 
at  the  age  of  twenty-seven,  and  Meyerbeer  in  his 
twenty-sixth  year.  Robert  Burns  published  his  first 
poems  when  twent^^-seven.  Byron  gave  "Childe 
Harold"  to  the  world  in  his  twenty-sixth  year. 
Browning's  "  Strafford"  appeared  in  his  twenty -sev- 
enth year,  though  he  had  printed  j^oems  at  twenty- 
three.  Mrs.  Browning  published  verses  at  sixteen, 
but  "  Aurora  Leigh"  did  not  appear  until  much  later. 
William  CuUen  Bryant  received  public  recognition  at 
twenty-seven,  by  being  asked  to  read  a  poem  before  a 
Greek  letter  society.  George  William  Curtis  pub- 
lished his  "Nile  Notes"  at  twentj^-six,  and  other 
books  in  the  succeeding  year.  Robert  Louis  Steven- 
son won  his  first  success  when  he  was  twenty-eight. 

Thomas  Jefferson  and  James  Monroe  at  the  age  of 
twenty -six  were  influential  members  of  the  Virginia 
Legislature.     Hamilton  at  twenty -six  was  in  the  Con- 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Livxtifj  ?     285 

tinental  Congress.  Johu  Raucloli)li  was  elected  to 
Congress  in  his  twentj'-seventh  year.  Warren  was 
twenty-seven  when  he  delivered  the  memorable  address 
on  the  5th  of  March,  which  aroused  the  sjjirit  of  pa- 
triotism and  liberty  throughout  the  country.  Fisher 
Ames,  at  the  same  age,  excited  public  attention  l)y 
the  ability  he  displayed  in  the  discussion  of  ]>ublic 
questions.  Chief-Justice  Marshall  practised  law  with 
great  success  in  his  twentj-'Seveuth  year,  Lewis  Cass 
quitted  law  at  twenty-eight  to  enter  the  army,  where 
he  rose  to  the  rank  of  general.  Stei)hen  A.  Douglas 
at  twenty-six  was  practising  law  previous  to  running 
for  the  State  Senate.  Charles  Sumner  sailed  for  Eu- 
rope in  his  twenty-seventh  year  to  study  lit<.^raturo 
and  life  abroad.  Henry  Ward  Beecher  accei)ted  a 
call  to  Indianapolis  at  twenty -six,  and  l)egau  his  i)ul- 
pit  labors.  Theodore  Parker  was  settled  at  Roxlniry 
at  twenty-seven.  Wendell  Phillips  was  twenty -six 
when  he  made  his  great  Lovejoy  speech  at  Fauouil 
Hall,  which  decided  his  future  career.  General  Tay- 
lor was  promoted  to  a  captaincy  at  twenty -six,  and 
soon  after  made  his  mark  in  the  war  against  Tecuni- 
seh.  Winfield  Scott  was  made  a  lieutonaut  at  the 
same  age.  Henry  Clay  began  his  political  lifo  at 
about  twenty-nine.  Daniel  Webster  gained  distinc- 
tion at  the  same  age.  Jose])h  Story,  Hamilton  Fish, 
and  Senator  Edmunds  all  entered  puljlic  life  at  twenty- 
six,  and  De  Witt  Clinton  at  twenty -eight.  Lincoln  and 
Tilden  were  both  admitted  to  the  bar  at  twcnty-Hevcn. 
Vesalius  at  twenty -six  was  made  professor  in  the 
University  of  Paris,  and  l.>egan  his  researclies  wliich 
established  the  science  of  anatomy.  Kichanl  Owon 
at  the  age  of  twenty-eight  published  his  "  Memoir  on 


286     What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Living  ? 

the  Pearly  Nautilus,"  which  i)laced  him  in  the  front 
rank  of  scientific  men,  and  which  Huxley  compared 
to  Cuvier's  best  work.  Asa  Gray  published  his  first 
botanical  work  at  twenty-six,  and  thereby  gave  a 
great  impetus  to  the  study  of  plants  in  America. 
Dr.  Fordyce  Barker  scored  his  first  success  at  twenty- 
seven,  by  a  paper  read  before  the  Connecticut  Medi- 
cal Association,  which  led  to  his  going  to  New  York. 

Rembrandt  was  about  twenty-six  when  he  jjainted 
"The  Anatomy  Lesson,"  which  made  him  the  most 
famous  of  Dutch  artists.  Rosa  Bonheur  at  twenty- 
seven,  by  one  picture,  "Ninernais,"  placed  herself  in 
the  front  rank  of  modern  painters.  At  twenty-six 
Turner  was  a  full  Academician.  Munkacsy,  when 
twenty-six,  won  his  first  triumph  and  a  medal  at  the 
Paris  Salon,  by  his  picture,  "  The  Last  Day  of  a  Man 
Sentenced  to  Death." 

Balzac  at  the  same  age  began  his  grand  scheme  of 
a  comprehensive  romance  embracing  the  history  of 
society.  At  twenty-six  Thackeray  wrote  "  The  Great 
Hoggarty  Diamond,"  which  Frederic  Harrison  con- 
siders equal,  for  style  and  pathos,  to  Thackeray's 
best  later  work.  Freeman,  the  historian,  gained  his 
first  honors  when  he  was  twenty-six. 

Dr.  Jameson  says  that  before  Cecil  Rhodes  left 
Oxford,  when  he  was  about  twenty-seven,  he  had 
planned  his  whole  South  African  policy,  which  was 
the  amalgamation  of  the  diamond  mines  and  the  oc- 
cupation of  what  is  now  Rhodesia. 

These  examples  might  be  multiplied  almost  with- 
out limit,  and  cases  cited  of  men  possessing  such  great 
and  such  varied  talent  as  Martin  Luther,  Peter  the 
Great,   William  Penn,  William  of  Orange,   Robes- 


What  Shall  Our  Boys  Do  for  a  Liviwj  ?     287 

pierre,  Mirabeau,  Pestalozzi,  Sir  Walter  RaleiKh, 
Cardinal  Mazarin,  Longfellow,  Draper  the  historian, 
and  James  Gordon  Bennett,  to  illustrate  the  fact  that, 
with  most  persons,  the  tide  comes  to  a  flood  at  about 
the  period  named. 


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